


Il était une fois

by aj_hofacre, lydiamartin (dwinchester)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Stiles has a foul mouth, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-05-28 02:11:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 82,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6310999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_hofacre/pseuds/aj_hofacre, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwinchester/pseuds/lydiamartin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A wish made simultaneously by members of the McCall pack is granted by an unlikely source. Now they have to relive the past year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Divine Move

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lyco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyco/gifts).



> This is for Lyco, who left us a comment on an old fic we wrote and inspired us to start a new Stiles/Allison story. It might not be what you were looking for, but we hope you like this one, too.

Stiles laid very still, his eyes closed as Lydia began screaming. He felt like he was floating away, but all he could think was that if he could go back and do everything differently, he would take that chance. 

Allison stared up at Scott, struggling to breathe as her grasp on his arm weakened and her vision began going black. It wasn’t supposed to have ended this way. As her hand began to fall to the ground, she wished that she’d been able to do things right the first time, that she could go back and start all over. The last thing she saw before she passed out were the tears lining Scott’s eyes.

The nogitsune sat on the stairs, smirking to himself as he heard the desperate pleas for a second chance from the dying teens. He tilted his head, his eyes gleaming as he grinned and decided to grant their wishes. “This could be very interesting. I want a front row seat.” The world didn’t spin backwards. That was beyond even his capabilities. But he watched everything as though it was being rewound quickly, stopping exactly one year earlier. That being done, he set about altering his appearance to keep himself hidden. 

*****

Stiles sat straight up in bed, mid-scream as the events from the past year caught up to him. He looked around in confusion. This definitely wasn’t the tunnel. He got out of bed carefully, raking his fingers through his hair. “Okay.” He muttered, taking a deep breath and trying not to panic. “I either died and this is like, heaven? Or purgatory. That makes more sense. Or... or I really did go back.” He picked up his phone, smiling faintly when he realized it was an older one. “I went back in time.” He started looking through his backpack to try to get an idea of where - or when - he was, then remembered that the date could just as easily be found on his phone. It was November sixteenth, two thousand and ten, exactly one year earlier. 

The phone rang a moment later, an obnoxious, loud tone as it vibrated violently in Stiles’ hand. The screen showed Scott’s nickname and number.

John knocked on the door loudly. “Stiles, you’d better be awake in there!” He called. “I’m not going to call the school and explain why you’re running late again!”

“Okay!” Stiles yelled back, answering his phone. “Hey, Scotty!” He started putting everything back into his backpack, trying to remember what exactly he had done on this day. It was a month and a half before Scott was bitten, or _would be_ bitten. 

“Hey! Are you coming to get me today, or am I harassing Mom for the car?” Scott asked, his voice affectionate.

Stiles laughed, not sure if it was from relief or hysteria. “I’ll be there, I just... overslept.” He pulled his backpack over one shoulder and opened his door, then glanced down and realized he was still in his pajamas. “Uh, it’ll be a few minutes.” He threw the backpack down on his bed and rushed through getting dressed as he spoke. “Do we have a test today?” 

“Not unless Harris decides to pull a pop-quiz on us again.” Scott replied, his voice sounding glum. It wouldn’t have been the first time that the chemistry teacher had done such a thing, and Scott usually ended up suffering the consequences of the surprise tests.

“I’d offer to let you cheat off of mine.” Stiles felt a little sick to his stomach as he remembered that this was a point in time when Harris was still alive. “But I think that would actually make your grade worse. He’s evil. He wants me to fail.” 

Scott snorted. “I don’t think you’re wrong.” He agreed. “But whatever, we’re only going to have him for that one class this year, right?”

“I hope so.” Stiles lied, grimacing as he put his shoes on. He already knew that they had Harris for another semester. “Okay, seriously, I’m on my way right now.” He picked up his backpack again, taking another look around the room before he left. 

“Drive safe!” John called after him.

Stiles stopped and turned around, running back to hug his dad. “I will.” He nodded, smiling. 

*****

Victoria walked into Allison’s room, slamming the door to try to wake her daughter up. She crossed the room and shook Allison’s shoulder. “You’re going to be late if you don’t get up right now. I don’t know why you prefer sleeping in. Maybe you’re up too late, doing god knows what.” 

Allison yelped, jolting awake and blinking bleary eyes up at her mother, her mouth slowly falling open. “Mom?” She blurted, gawking at the red-haired woman. She spun around, gazing at the room - her old bedroom in San Francisco. She’d gone back to San Francisco. She was sixteen, and at this time, still being lied to by her family members. She gulped. Kate was alive. Laura Hale was still alive - though not for much longer if she remembered the timeline correctly. They hadn’t even moved to Beacon Hills yet, but the move was coming, if the look in her mother’s eyes was anything to go by. She scrambled for her cell phone and cursed when she saw the date and time. She was still a month and a half away from even remotely stepping _foot_ in Beacon Hills.

“Yes, that’s the name I go by when it comes to you.” Victoria remarked, turning to face Allison. She was holding up a couple of hangers, containing a shirt and skirt. “Wear these. I just saved you twenty minutes of making a decision.” 

Allison blinked rapidly, reaching for the clothing numbly. She couldn’t remember her mother being this cold to her before the move. “Okay. Thank you.” She said softly, looking up at Victoria before slowly standing up.

Victoria smiled and hugged Allison. “Don’t worry too much about what these people think of you, we won’t be here much longer.” 

Allison relaxed immediately, slumping against Victoria and hugging her mother tightly. “I never worry about what they think.” She told her, smiling faintly. “There’s never any point. Do you think the next move will be the last one, though?”

“Allison, you always ask me that and I always tell you that it probably won’t be.” Victoria shook her head. “Come downstairs when you’re dressed.” She left the room. 

Allison stared after her, smiling tightly before she took a deep breath. She let it out a moment later, and then started to change. Her mind raced as she tried to think of what she needed to do. She’d wanted to be sent back, to fix everything, to stop all the tragedy. That meant she had to be in Beacon Hills, but how on earth was she going to get there? Her mother, if she remembered correctly, had kept a hawk’s eye on her every minute, and frequently called her cell phone to make sure Allison was where she was supposed to be. As she adjusted her skirt and brushed her hair back, she paused, staring at herself in the mirror. She could always dig into her father’s files and see what sort of hunt he was on now. Maybe if she helped him finish it off, without Chris being any the wiser, it could possibly mean an early return to Beacon Hills.

Victoria walked back over to the stairs and yelled up, “Allison, breakfast! Now!” Sometimes, being the mother of a teenage girl was frustrating, but Allison always seemed at her worst in the early mornings, before school. 

“Coming!” Allison called back, flailing a little as she spun around. Grabbing the first pair of shoes she saw, she ran down the steps and threw herself onto the couch, slipping them on before she hurried into the kitchen. Reaching for the orange juice, she poured herself a large glass, and then grabbed a stack of pancakes and the bottle of syrup. “Sorry.” She apologized, grimacing.

Victoria smiled gently, putting a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Your dad had to leave a couple of hours ago for a business meeting in a town north of here. It’s a long drive. He should be home in time for dinner, though.” 

Allison smiled back. North of here. Maybe she wouldn’t have to do too much manipulation of the circumstances after all, if her father was already fixating on Beacon Hills. “Good. Can we have ravioli?” She asked Victoria, easily slipping back into old habits with her mother around.

“What kind of ravioli?” Victoria sat down to drink her coffee. 

“Cheese, I think? The kind that’s got cheese and spinach mixed together. With Ragu sauce?” Allison requested, cutting into her pancakes and taking a large bite.

Victoria nodded. “Yes, we can do that.” She agreed. “Your father will hate it.” She smiled. “Serves him right for leaving with no warning, hmm? You should get going.” 

Allison giggled and nodded, finishing off her breakfast and standing. She made her way to Victoria’s side and hugged her mother tightly, shutting her eyes. She’d wanted to do this so many times since Victoria had died that she almost didn’t want to let go.

“Allison?” Victoria pulled away, giving her daughter a questioning look. “If school bothers you that much, perhaps I should have a talk with your teachers?” 

Allison shook her head, pulling back and swallowing roughly. “It’s not that, I just… I - I…” She inhaled deeply, and then lied. “I had a nightmare, is all. I just… you weren’t there. You - you weren’t there.” She went silent, and then said, “It just made me realize that I sort of take you for granted sometimes. And that… I’d miss you a lot if you were… gone.”

Victoria hugged Allison again. “That sounds like a nightmare I’d hate to have about you.” She remarked. “Now you’re running late.” 

Allison smiled sheepishly, but hugged Victoria once more, swiftly kissing her cheek. “I’m going. I love you.” She grabbed her bag and ran for the door.


	2. A Sound of Thunder

Stiles sat down across from Scott in the cafeteria. He smiled at his best friend, but his gaze was wandering the room before he realized what he was doing, silently taking stock of Erica, Isaac, Boyd, Lydia and Jackson. His gaze fell on Matt Daehler and he sneered, but stopped himself from getting up and punching Allison’s stalker. Allison wasn’t someone he was supposed to know yet, and there was no way Matt could have known her, either. 

Scott squinted at him curiously, tilting his head. “What’s up, dude? You keep making funny faces and I can’t tell if you’re constipated or angry.”

Stiles laughed. “Angry. I’d tell you if I was constipated. You know I would.” He shrugged at Scott. “I’m just trying to, uh, be more mindful of other people lately. Let’s just say I had an epiphany.” 

Scott tilted his head. “What kind of epiphany?” He asked, frowning. “What happened? Did something happen?”

“Everything happens. So much.” Stiles quipped, then sighed. “Okay, look. I’m just... like... people pick on Erica all the fucking time, right? And Boyd sits by himself at lunch every day. And Isaac... he’s got to have somebody do something for him, at some point. Otherwise, he’ll just... scarves, dude. Okay? I know I don’t make any sense right now, but trust me. Just trust me.” 

Scott looked hopelessly confused, but nodded slowly. “Uh, yeah, of course I trust you. But… what brought this on? You - I mean, no offense, dude, but you’ve never looked twice at anyone other than you and me before. And Lydia Martin,” he added as an afterthought.

“Like I said. Epiphany.” Stiles murmured. 

Scott paused, and then shrugged. “Okay.” He said simply. “What are you thinking of doing?”

“I don’t know yet.” Stiles admitted. “Anything I do is going to screw everything up. I should just sit here and eat.” 

“Okay.” Scott said again, a little more slowly. “But… I mean, we could invite someone over to sit with us? Or go sit with them?”

“No! I mean, I don’t think that’s a good idea. See, if I do anything - I can’t even have this conversation with you right now. Eat your lunch.” Stiles muttered, putting his head down. 

Scott sighed, looking frustrated. “Okay, dude, whatever you say.” He mumbled, stabbing at his fruit cup. 

Stiles echoed Scott’s sigh. He felt miserable. In class, he had felt like some kind of god, able to answer all of the questions easily because he had already learned all of the right things to say. But he couldn’t tell Scott any of this. No matter what he did, it would throw everything off. He had never seen The Butterfly Effect, but now he was determined to watch it for any possible ideas for how to navigate his way through this world a second time. 

Scott stared at Stiles. “Dude, what’s going on? Why do you look upset?” He exhaled. “Why can’t you tell me?”

Stiles lifted his head and eyed Scott. “Wha- Scott. If I could tell you why I couldn’t tell you what I can’t tell you, that’s kind of the same thing as telling you. Nope. Not happening.” 

“If you could tell me why - you can’t - what?” Scott scowled, smacking his hand on the table. “Stiles! I know you’ve got your quirks and stuff, and I can usually follow along pretty well, even when I know it’s probably going to get me in so much trouble that my mom will one day pull me out of school and ship me off to a boarding school in, like, the Netherlands or something, and I know you can be secretive about stuff, but there’s gotta be something you can tell me. You literally tell me when you’ve been jerking off and how often, and now you can’t tell me a thing?”

“This is different.” Stiles frowned. “My jerking off won’t alter reality.” He grimaced and yanked the hood of his jacket up, over his head. 

“Uh-uh!” Scott blurted, nearly throwing himself over the table and grabbing at Stiles’ jacket, trying to yank the hood down. “Tell me! Alter reality? What are you talking about? Tell me now!”

“If I said I was just fucking with you, would you believe me?” Stiles looked hopeful. 

“Nope!” Scott told him, his eyes lighting up. “And if you don’t say what’s going on, I’m going to irritate the living crap out of you until you tell me just to get me to shut up.”

“I forgot that you were a total dick before.” Stiles remarked, smiling proudly. “Okay, I’ll tell you.” He nodded. “Even though I really shouldn’t. Fuck. Whatever, maybe it’ll be okay. The night before our new semester starts, something bad is going to happen. Or it could happen. I might stop it from happening. I just don’t know what that’s going to do to everything else. But I’ve already told you, so... bombs away, I guess?” 

“I didn’t follow that in the slightest except for the ‘something bad.’” Scott told him, furrowing his brows. “Tell me slower. What sort of bad? Why ‘could’ it happen, if it’s supposed to happen? How do you stop it? I don’t want anything bad to happen.”

“I don’t want to give you all of the details. Not yet, at least.” Stiles thought for a long moment. “There’s a life-changing thing that, if I don’t do something differently, will happen to you. And it’s a scary thing, but not necessarily that terrible? I mean, you handle it okay. Considering. It’s just that if that doesn’t happen, then I don’t think any of the rest of it does. Which could make everything a lot easier. But there’s no reason for about two-thirds of the good stuff to happen if the bad stuff doesn’t, and... I don’t know. Okay?” 

Scott gulped a little. “So… it’s a bad thing that has to happen to me, or it’s going to end up really, really bad?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t actually answer that. Maybe we’ll talk more about it later?” Stiles would personally rather have a root canal without novocaine, but he had run his mouth this much, a little more probably wouldn’t do any worse damage. 

“Um. Okay.” Scott replied softly, scratching the back of his neck. “Sorry for pushing you into telling me.”

“I shouldn’t have. Probably.” Stiles sighed. “I think maybe I should just go home for the rest of the day. Think this over.” 

Scott hesitated, then bit his lip and said, “Can I help you at all? I don’t know what’s up, and maybe I shouldn’t have pushed you, but… whatever you’re doing, you shouldn’t be doing it alone, bro.”

“Feel like ditching?” Stiles glanced up when he heard a feminine shriek and some laughter. His eyes narrowed as he saw Erica frantically wiping her face and shirt with a napkin. Before he could reconsider and remind himself about altering history, he was on his feet and moving toward the guy responsible for dumping milk on Erica. 

Scott was up and following a split second later, moving toward Erica with paper towels. He dropped down beside her, using the towels to soak up the milk in Erica’s hair before he looked up and focused on what Stiles was doing.

Stiles brought his fist back and punched the guy, not bothering to ask for an explanation. He didn’t need one. “Tell her you’re sorry.” 

“Ow, what the hell!” The teen snapped, reaching up to push Stiles away. “Fuck, no, why the hell should I?”

Stiles stared back, then rolled his eyes. “God, I don’t know, maybe because you fucking dumped your milk carton on her head? You could tell her you’re sorry right now and never, ever do it again. Or you could deal with me making the rest of your life hell.” 

Smirking at Stiles, the other boy scoffed. “Oh, I’m really scared. Really.” He straightened and got in Stiles’ face, expecting the other boy to back down. “I’m not apologizing to her. So what are you going to do about it?”

Stiles knew that realistically, he wasn’t as athletic now as he would be in another year, which still didn’t say a whole lot. But he knew how to throw a punch, and had already demonstrated it once to the guy whose name he didn’t know, nor care to learn. He hit him again. “Good enough? Or do you want another one?” 

Cursing, Kevin jerked away from Stiles, reaching his hand up to cover his nose. “Damn it! Fine!” He snapped, stomping over to Erica. “I’m fucking sorry, okay?”

Scott was on his feet in an instant, pushing Erica behind him. “You’d better back up. Say it like you mean it. He’s insane enough to hit you again, but I’m his best friend, and the two of us together are completely psycho, so seriously, freaking try it, dude.”

Stiles nodded. “One more time. Do it right.” 

Instead of turning to apologize to Erica again, Kevin rounded abruptly and took a swing at Stiles.

Stiles stepped back and smiled indulgently, fed up with trying to use reason. It didn’t seem like any faculty members were going to intervene anytime soon, so he grabbed the guy by the front of his shirt and made him sit down across from Erica. “Tell her you’re sorry. And mean it.” 

Kevin scowled, looking up at Stiles before he glared across the table at Erica. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

Stiles glanced at Erica. “Good?” 

Erica shrugged, looking away and huddling a little closer to Scott. “Yeah, sure.” She muttered.

Kevin was up and bolting across the room before she was finished talking.

Stiles gave Erica a fond smile, not realizing how much he had missed her until he saw her again. “Hey, if anyone gives you crap about this, just tell them that guy heard you were Catwoman and he misunderstood what that meant.” 

Erica blinked at Stiles in confusion, but smiled back tentatively. “Oh… okay?” She glanced between Stiles and Scott. 

Scott smiled back at her gently, putting a hand on her upper back. “Are you okay?” He asked her, ducking his head a little.

Erica paused, and then said unhappily, “I could use a shower. And a change of clothes.”

“Do you have anything else here at school you can wear?” Stiles asked, then realized he and Scott couldn’t exactly bring Erica any clothes. “Hold on.” He walked over to Lydia, forgetting until it was too late that at this point in time, most of his interactions with her involved stammering and saying stupid things when he did manage to talk. Not that she had ever noticed, anyway. “Hi, Lydia. Erica needs a little help, and Scott and I can’t exactly do anything about that.” 

Lydia stared back at Stiles. “I’m sorry, who?” 

Scott escorted Erica toward Lydia with a gentle hand on her back. “Erica.” He repeated. “She just had milk dumped all over her because of a freshman that thought he was cool. Can you help her? Please?”

Erica shifted uncomfortably, avoiding Lydia’s eyes. She felt like a drowned rat in comparison to Lydia’s immaculate appearance.

Lydia eyed Erica, then looked from Scott to Stiles. “I don’t even know any of you.” She said finally. “And this isn’t actually my problem.” She looked back at Erica. “Good luck, though.” 

Scott faltered, staring at Lydia and looking extremely disappointed in her. He shook his head slowly, pursing his lips together before he sighed and patted Erica’s shoulder. “Come on, Erica. I can see if I’ve got an extra t-shirt in my locker, if you don’t mind wearing it. And maybe we can get you down to the girls’ locker room before class so you can wash up.”

Erica nodded slowly, walking slowly toward the doorway of the cafeteria.

Stiles grimaced as he took a step back from Lydia, who had gone back to eating and talking to Jackson. He thought about telling her off, but decided against it. One day, possibly, she would be his friend. Just not yet. He followed Scott and Erica out of the cafeteria. 

*****

It was maddening, that first day - going to school, waiting for her father to come home. She’d forgotten how much she had hated that stupid San Francisco school that she’d been enrolled in, and the fact that her father had used to milk the crap out of his trips, for no reason other than wanting to make sure that whoever he was talking to would make the most out of their partnership. She could only assume that it was the Sheriff - Stiles’ father - who he was speaking with. Add to the fact that he was most likely checking out the supernatural situation in the little town off of the preserve, and he didn’t make it home until nearly midnight.

Victoria knocked on Allison’s bedroom door. “I know you’re awake, Allison. Your bedroom light is on. Just come downstairs and say hello to your dad.” 

Allison rolled out of bed and stumbled to the doorway, looking embarrassed as she opened it up. She beamed up at her mother. “Sorry. I know I should be asleep. I just really wanted to see him.”

“I understand.” Victoria smiled back. “Come on, let’s see if he brought anything back, given how late he is.” 

“God, I hope he brought chocolate.” Allison breathed. “Or a puppy.” She laughed and hurried down the stairs, throwing herself at Chris the moment she saw him. “Dad!”

Chris turned and caught Allison just as she flew at him, laughing. “Well, hey there, princess. Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?” He looked up at his wife, smiling. “Or are we pulling her out of school for the day?”

“I think just this once, she can miss a day.” Victoria smiled back. “It certainly won’t matter when we move. We are moving again, aren’t we?” 

Chris nodded, hugging Allison to his chest. “At the end of the month. Little place called Beacon Hills.” He raised his eyes to Victoria’s knowingly, speaking to his wife as though they’d never heard of the town before. He looked down at Allison. “I think you’ll like it. The community is a little more knit together there, the school is very good. I think you might do well there, honey.”

Allison smiled a little. “Anything to get me out of Mission.” She told him, nodding easily.

“If you want...” Victoria began slowly, knowing that it drove Allison nuts when she did that. “You could just wait until the new semester to start classes there. No point in you going for two weeks and then having another two off.” 

Allison stared at Victoria in disbelief, a slow smile growing on her face. “Are you serious? You’d pull me out of school until the end of the month so I can start fresh at the new place?”

“I don’t see why not.” Victoria nodded. “It’s our fault for not doing a more thorough check of this school, we might as well make sure that the next one is better.” 

Allison squealed and jumped in place before throwing her arms around her mother. “You are the best!” She blurted, and then waved her free arm at her father, attempting to drag him closer and hugging them both.

Victoria laughed. “I know that.” 

Chris grinned, kissing the top of Allison’s head and wrapping his arm around Victoria. “We both do. I’m glad you’re so excited about this, honey. I know the last couple of moves have been tough on you.”

“I think this one might be a little long-lasting.” Victoria admitted, watching Allison’s reaction as she said it. 

Allison blinked and sold the reaction as best she could. “ _Really_?” She spun and looked at her father. “Have you picked out a house yet? Can we visit? Can I help pick out the house? Can I choose my new room?”

Chris snorted. “I don’t see why not.” He told her, and looked down at Victoria. “We could make a trip up tomorrow and call Ally off of school. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Victoria nodded. “I’m tired of this city, myself.” 

“San Francisco is for the birds.” Allison added, grinning.

Chris looked amused. “Alright. We’ll take a trip up north and let you have a look around, Allison. Maybe you could visit the school and see what you think?”

Allison beamed at him. “That sounds awesome.”

Victoria leaned toward Chris to kiss him, then glanced at Allison. “Go to bed. We’ll leave in the morning.” 

Allison laughed and nodded. “Okay, Mom.” She darted in briefly to hug her parents before running up the stairs.

Chris watched his daughter disappear, and then turned to look at Victoria, moving his hands to wrap around her waist. “Everything’s quiet in Beacon Hills right now, but I think it’s just a matter of time before something happens.”

“What makes you so certain?” Victoria asked. If it sounded snide, she didn’t mean it that way. She trusted her husband’s judgment on matters like this, he had been trained since he was a kid. 

Chris sighed. “Right now, it’s just a feeling. Beacon Hills has always been a hotbed, though. It’s been quiet for entirely too long.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I don’t know, Vic. I’d just feel better if we were there and able to protect the town ahead of time.”

“I’ll start packing things now.” Victoria agreed. 

Chris smiled at her. “If all else fails, we’ll be able to move a little earlier than the end of the month, maybe.”


	3. Time After Time

By the next afternoon, Stiles was wondering why he couldn’t have just let himself die in the tunnel. He hadn’t missed Harris at all, and the teacher seemed even more bent on making his life hell. This time around, Stiles still wasn’t paying attention, but he had more of a reason for it. He was constructing a timeline of events to try to figure out what would be a variable that he could work with. It was bad enough that he had told Scott anything in the first place. To try to rectify the situation, he had made up a bunch of crap about space aliens and killer rabbits, knowing that eventually, Scott would give up on asking. He just wanted to get back to the point in time when he told Scott they needed to go look for Laura Hale’s bisected corpse, so that he could avoid that altogether. Still, he knew that Scott’s asthma and Erica’s epilepsy couldn’t go away without someone intervening, and Laura wasn’t even in town yet. 

Scott watched Stiles intently, shaking his head and sighing. He was well aware that Stiles was bullshitting him on a lot of things, but he’d long since given up asking.

Stiles gave Scott a tired smile and rubbed his eyes. “Okay, all this aside? If you knew that you could make two people have better health, but one would die and the other would have a lot of shitty things happen to him, would you help them be healthy, anyway?” 

“Yes.” Scott said instantly. “Maybe it’s crappy, but I’d totally go for health.” He didn’t know what to say that would explain his stance, but he couldn’t help but think that giving two people better health for a shorter time would be preferable to having bad health for a longer time.

Stiles was silent for a long moment, but he nodded. “Okay. I’ll figure it out. I’m sorry that I’m being a dick about everything. I just need to know that this won’t get all fucked up and worse than... just worse.” 

Scott didn’t say anything for a moment, then nodded. “It’s okay. We’ve been best friends since we were midgets. If I didn’t forgive you when you got weird, we wouldn’t still be best friends now.”

“Oh, thanks.” Stiles snorted. “Love you, too.” He blew Scott a kiss and sighed. “Give me another twenty-four hours to figure out if I should say anything for real, okay?” 

Scott grinned at him. “Twenty-four hours. And not a second more, dude.” He agreed, nodding. “If I come at you for answers, I want them. Like, right then.”

“Couldn’t we just make out, instead?” Stiles whined half-heartedly. 

Scott didn’t look impressed, “In your dreams.”

“Yes, and that’s why I’m asking you to make my dreams come true.” Stiles grinned. “Come on, it’s not like it would be that big of a deal, right? It’s just two mouths that are touching. Everybody has one. It doesn’t have to be a sex thing.” 

Scott rolled his eyes. “Never happening, dude.” He said affectionately, patting Stiles’ cheek with a grin.

“I know.” Stiles nodded. “I just like having some constants, that’s all.” 

Scott grinned. “Yeah. One day, I might take you up on it, and you’ll be so shocked, you won’t know what to do with yourself.”

“No, I’ll make out with you.” Stiles retorted. “No take backs.” He laughed. 

“I said one day! I never said when one day would be!” Scott taunted, poking his best friend. “No take backs.” He agreed a moment later, though, tilting his head and nodding. 

“I know. I didn’t mean right now. Right now would be bad.” Stiles mused. He sighed, leaning back to look at Scott. It was strange. This was his best friend, someone he had spent nearly his entire life with. But now he was sixteen, despite what chronology indicated, and Scott had just turned sixteen. The werewolf-to-be had no idea what was coming. Stiles felt wistful for the days when their biggest problem had been passing Harris’ brutal exams. That’s where Scott was, and Stiles would have given anything to keep him there. But this was also a Scott McCall with asthma that could flare up at the slightest provocation, and he knew that somewhere across town was an Erica Reyes who just wanted people to stop laughing at her. He wondered what would happen if he stopped Peter. Maybe Allison would have no reason to be in town. Scott would never meet her, but she would never be murdered by an Oni. At least, not in the same manner. No out of control Peter, no Jackson becoming the kanima, no Matt Daehler killing half of the deputies that Stiles knew. That wouldn’t be enough to stop Jennifer Blake, or whatever her name was. Those events had been set in motion years ago. Stiles knew his mind had been wandering for too long already, and that Scott was bound to ask another question. But he felt like he was missing something in his plan to keep Scott from being bitten by Peter. 

Scott wiggled his fingers in front of Stiles’ face. “You okay, dude?” He asked, looking concerned despite the amused tone of his voice. “You seemed like you got a little… lost?”

“Quandaries.” Stiles muttered, laying back on his bed and sighing. “Chess is easier than... this.” He sat up, his mind suddenly racing again as he got out his chess board and started setting up the pieces. 

Scott sat up as well, watching him curiously. “... I’m guessing you want to play chess now?”

“No. Not exactly.” Stiles looked up at Scott, then back down at the board. He trailed his fingers over the pieces, squinting as he pictured one move after another. 

Scott followed Stiles’ hands, looking completely thrown. After a moment, he piped up again. “Do you want me to be quiet so you can concentrate?”

“Just for a minute.” Stiles murmured. He would apologize later, if he could remember that he needed to. Twelve moves later, he glanced up at Scott again. “Okay. Sorry. I think I figured out a few things, though.” 

Scott looked at Stiles expectantly, his eyebrows raised. “Okay. Tell me.”

“If I do that, will you promise to listen to me and do everything I tell you, at least when it comes to this?” Stiles asked carefully. “Because I know that’s a lot to ask, but if you can’t do it, then I can’t tell you. Not anything.” 

Scott bit his lower lip, and then sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t know if I can. Promise you, I mean. What if something happens that’s so bad that I need to break that promise and you get mad at me for breaking the promise but it saves your life or something, but you won’t talk to me anymore because I broke the promise? I’d rather not promise and have the chance to help you when I can because I didn’t promise you that I would do what you told me to do.”

Stiles smiled. “If it’s down to saving me or honoring this, you’ll do what’s best. I know that. Okay? So, do you promise or not?” 

Scott exhaled slowly, but nodded eventually. “I promise.”

Stiles sat back down on his bed and looked at Scott. “Just before our second semester starts, if everything goes how it’s been going, you’re going to be bitten by a wolf. Only, it’s not an actual wolf. It’s a werewolf. I was going to try to keep you out of it. I still could. But without that bite, you have horrible asthma. You know this already. Anyway, without you getting that bite, our junior year is just... it would be worse. No way around it. Still, if you don’t want it, we’ll find a way.” 

Scott took a deep breath. “So… a werewolf. I’d be a werewolf. And it could - it could cure me?” He blinked a little, looking vaguely hopeful for a moment. “How is it supposed to happen?”

“Well, that’s the bad part.” Stiles admitted. “The guy that bites you is psychotic. He won’t leave you alone, either. And trying to kill him doesn’t seem to work out so well. But if we can get him to bite you, then... I think the rest of it can be sorted out later? Like I’ll just... I’ll figure it out. And you won’t have to worry about any of it.” 

Scott stared at Stiles in disbelief. “We want the crazy psycho guy to bite me and possibly harass me? Can’t we - isn’t there anyone else?” He shifted unhappily. “Can’t anyone else, some other werewolf, any other werewolf do it?”

“Technically, yes. But I don’t think it would go the same way, if that happened.” Stiles murmured. “But no. What I’m saying is, crazy werewolf guy bites you and then I kill him. Or somebody else kills him. Whatever, he’ll be dead. That’s all.” 

“So you’d willingly murder someone for this.” Scott said flatly. “Who is this guy? Is he completely disposable, just like that? Has he ever helped before?”

“He’s not trustworthy. I’m not telling you his name. It’ll make it easier on you if you don’t know. He’s sort of given assistance, but not a whole lot. I don’t like him. We can get along without him.” Stiles didn’t want to actually have to kill Peter, but he already had blood on his hands from other people, he figured one more death wouldn’t be that big of a deal. And Peter deserved it. 

Scott pursed his lips together tightly, staring at Stiles. “Don’t kill anyone, Stiles.” He said quietly. “Just don’t. Okay? I’m - I don’t want to think that you would do that. To a psycho or not, I mean. Just please, don’t kill.”

“I’ll find a way.” Stiles murmured. “But if there isn’t another one and I have to, then I have to.” 

“Just don’t let me know.” Scott muttered, shaking his head. “I don’t want to know. Like, at all.”

“I know. I shouldn’t have even said this much, but I... I don’t know what I’m actually doing. There was this moment when I wished to go back and fix everything, and somehow, I got it. And I don’t know what to do with it. I could keep you from being bitten, but... I feel like if I do that, it’s just going to fall apart on me somehow. I don’t know. It’s not like I expected I’d be here, now.” Stiles rambled. “You’re the only person I’m telling.” 

“Breathe, man.” Scott said gently, putting a hand on Stiles’ arm. “I wish I knew how to react to this the right way, but… I guess I’m just going to have to trust you on this one, right?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” Stiles nodded. “But it’s not all bad, okay? I’m telling you. Good things are going to happen. For now, we don’t have to worry. Do you want to go get something to eat?” 

Scott blew out a soft breath. “Yeah, please? I’m starving.” He got up and reached for Stiles’ hand, tugging him up. “Come on. Diner?”

“Yeah.” Stiles grinned. He walked downstairs and out to the Jeep, trying to decide what he wanted to order when he got there. 

Scott followed Stiles down and out, leaning on him briefly for a moment. “You know… this time travel whatever is really freaking exhausting, man.”

“You’re not the one that had to do it.” Stiles laughed. “It’s freaking weird. I’m fifteen here, but I know what things are like when I’m sixteen. A year from now. Well, a year from yesterday. It’s easier with school, but all the rest of it sucks.” 

Scott laughed softly. “You’re sure you can’t give me one little preview?” He wheedled hopefully.

Stiles thought for a minute, then grinned. “Keep an extra pen on you at all times.” 

Scott blinked. “An extra pen…” He muttered, sighing. “God, you’re a pain. Okay, extra pen. Anything else?”

Stiles shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll let you know if something comes up. And you love me, anyway.” He smiled as he drove toward the diner. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Scott snorted in amusement. “Big head.”

“I could respond to that in a way you really, really don’t want me to.” Stiles laughed. He glanced at Scott when they got to a red light. “I’ve missed you. This you. It’s kind of throwing me off. I know you’re the same person and everything. It’s just weird.”


	4. Life Is Strange

Allison had wandered off on her own about twenty minutes before with her father’s credit card and a firm order from her mother to meet once more in front of the town hall in two hours. She’d accepted and walked away, her mind racing as she thought of what she needed to do now that she was alone and actually able to potentially get something done. Her hand trailed across the glass of the bookstore in town before she paused and let it cross her mind to actually enter.

Stiles parked in the lot between the bookstore and the diner, turning around warily to look at the brunette he had driven past. His breath was caught in his throat, and he wondered if things had happened exactly like this before. He remembered going to the diner a lot with Scott before everything went to hell on them. Had he passed right by Allison without even seeing her? How often had that occurred before the second semester? He leaned back against the side of his Jeep, closing his eyes. 

Scott looked over at Stiles in confusion. “Dude, what’s wrong? You okay?”

“Yeah, just realizing that we need to stay here a minute.” Stiles took a deep breath. “I’m trying to keep everything as it’s supposed to go. For the most part. We can have the good, or slightly good things, without the horrible shit. We can. I know we can.” 

Scott furrowed his brow. “Why are you looking so freaked out, though? It’s okay if things go a little off-balance, isn’t it? I don’t know anything about time travel or whatever, but you don’t have to keep everything exactly the same, do you?”

“No, but...” Stiles sighed. “Okay, come on. The diner.” He murmured. 

“We’re going into the diner?” Scott asked, his stomach growling almost on cue. He stumbled out of the car eagerly.

Stiles walked toward the diner, but he couldn’t help glancing back over his shoulder at the bookstore. 

Scott walked ahead, occasionally glancing back at Stiles worriedly. “Dude, what - who did you see?”

“Nobody!” Stiles blurted, his eyes wide. 

Scott stopped walking, turning to look at Stiles with a deep frown. “Stiles. Who did you see?”

“A person that I don’t want you to know yet. But not a dangerous one. Not an evil one, at least. Just go in the diner.” Stiles demanded. “Okay?” 

Scott rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine.” He muttered, turning and walking into the diner without another word.

Stiles tapped his fingers together as he thought, then he turned and went back toward the bookstore. At the very least, he would say hello. It didn’t have to alter anything. 

Allison wandered through the aisles, studying the books on each shelf with a small smile. She already had a small pile in her arms, and she was clutching them tightly to her chest.

Stiles hurried through the store, his eyes darting around as he looked for Allison. He spotted her in between two of the rows and slowed down, thinking before he moved toward her. “Hi.” 

Allison turned around and blinked, her mouth opening. “St - uh, hi, I mean. Hi. Hello.” She cleared her throat, forcing herself to act like she didn’t recognize Stiles, and was merely politely interested in the random teenager that had come out of nowhere. She had to remember that this Stiles didn’t know her. This Stiles hadn’t been through any of the things that her Stiles had been through. She raised her eyebrows. “Can I help you?” She asked tentatively.

“Oh. Crap.” Stiles stammered, not needing to fake it. He was still not sure he was doing the right thing, trying to talk to her. “Um, I thought you were someone else. Sorry.” He smiled awkwardly and took a step back, nearly tripping over the person behind him. “Shit. Sorry.” He muttered to the guy, then looked at Allison. “Sorry. Again. Bye.” 

Allison smiled gently, lifting her hand up to wave at him. “It’s okay, really. Um. Bye.”

Stiles stared at Allison for another moment, then faltered and turned, walking back through the store and going to the diner. “Stupid.” He muttered to himself as he made his way toward Scott. “Hi.” 

Scott raised an eyebrow at him, and lowered his eyes to the menu he didn’t actually need. “Hey. You went in the bookstore, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Stiles admitted. “But I don’t know why. I guess just... I don’t know. For the same reason I kicked that guy’s ass for dumping milk on Erica, I guess. I ignored it when it happened before. For me, before. I mean.” 

Scott put the menu down, looking at Stiles. “The milk thing with Erica happened in your old timeline, too?” He asked, frowning. “Or do you mean the bookstore?”

“The milk thing. This thing, the bookstore thing, was new. Or at least, possibly new. It’s possible that I just didn’t notice before.” Stiles glanced up at Scott. “I’m pissing you off, right?” 

Scott raised a hand, his index finger and thumb just a fraction of an inch apart, and gave his best friend a fake smile, his lips tightly pulled together. “Just a little bit.”

“Does it make a difference at all if I tell you that I haven’t told you because I know how you are about big moments and how they mean something?” Stiles sighed. 

Pausing to let that sentence settle in his mind, Scott sighed and shook his head. “Okay, fine, I’ll stop being a dick about this.” He said. “But this had better be a big moment thing. Like, the biggest, dude.”

“Fairy tale stuff.” Stiles nodded emphatically. “Trust me. I couldn’t get you to shut up about it, the first time around.” 

Scott grimaced. “So I’m going to be a repetitive weirdo when this happens?”

“You meet her and you start telling me all about everything to do with her. How certain parts of her body taste. What she smells like. Noises she makes.” Stiles smiled. “I would beg you to stop and you didn’t listen, but I got over it. I figured it was karmic payback.” 

Scott’s eyes went slightly wide, and embarrassment crossed his face. “Dude. Okay, I am so sorry if I do this crap again. Holy shit.” His cheeks were bright red and heat visibly looked like it was coming off of them.

“I don’t blame you for it, seriously.” Stiles murmured. “She’s one of the few people in this town that would ever listen to me, so she became a good friend of mine, too. Becomes a good friend of mine, I mean. I hope so again, at least.” 

Scott smiled faintly, nodding. “Well, I hope so, too.” He told Stiles. “For your sake, man.”


	5. Bernoulli Process

Over the next few days, Stiles was careful not to mention Allison to Scott. He said hi to Erica and Boyd in the hallways, but he couldn’t bring himself to befriend Isaac. All joking about his fashion sense aside, Stiles felt like Scott’s friendship with Isaac had taken away from his own friendship. It was jealousy, but he wasn’t in the mood to try to rise above it. He still kept an eye on Lydia, who barely blinked in his direction on a good day. He just wanted to get through November and December, so that January could bring about the start of everything that he was trying to take care of. He sat in the town’s public library, reading through old articles about the Hale house catching on fire, hoping to construct a timeline for himself and figure out the best way to stop Peter. For Scott’s sake, Stiles was going to try not to resort to murder. But it was almost tempting. He sighed and put his head down, wondering how tainted he was from the nogitsune’s possession of him, and how much of it was him from before. 

Erica paused when she saw Stiles, staring at him with a frown on her face before she took a deep breath and approached him. “What’s your deal, Stilinski?” She asked bluntly. “Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden, and saying hi to me every time you get the chance? Since when? You’ve never done it before.”

Stiles glanced up, then smiled at Erica and pushed the chair out across from him, using his foot. “Sit down, let’s talk.” He nodded. “See, I’ll tell you. I think you’re good at keeping secrets. You are, right?” 

Erica squinted at him, but took the seat that he’d pushed out, tilting her head thoughtfully at Stiles. “You could say that, yeah.” She told him. “What am I keeping secret?”

“I’m reliving the past year.” Stiles explained. “Well, past year for me. It was twenty-eleven and I got sent back, somehow. In another three months, you and I become pretty good friends. But I figure, it can’t hurt to get an early start on that. And I know Boyd would like more people to hang out with, too. Probably not me.” He snorted. “But maybe Scott. And before you ask, I know you believe me because I have no reason to make this shit up. I’m not trying to manipulate you or humiliate you or get you to have sex with me. You can trust me.” 

Erica studied him for a long moment, keeping silent as she thought over his words. “Maybe I do believe you, but that doesn’t make me think you’re any less nuts.” She told him, the corner of her mouth lifting. “Time-travel, huh?”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah.” He smiled sadly. “In another week, you’re going to have a seizure. You lose control of your bladder during, and that asshole that dumped milk on you is going to record it and try to put it on youtube. Before, he did. Because I didn’t know he was doing it, so I didn’t stop him. Now I know. Now he won’t do it. I won’t let him, okay?” He bit his lip. “Also, I know you had a crush on me for a while in eighth grade. You haven’t told me yet. Yet here, I mean. I found out in March of next year.” 

Erica inhaled sharply, looking awkward. “That’s… I mean, it isn’t a big deal, it’s just… you’re cute. And you’re funny, and that’s… appealing, that’s all.” She went silent and looked down. “I hate having seizures. I hate that people take advantage of me when I have them.” She said softly.

“It won’t happen again.” Stiles reached across the table and put his hand over Erica’s. “Okay? I won’t let anyone do that to you again.” 

Erica stared at him dubiously. “I don’t understand how you think you can stop it.” She told him.

“I have methods.” Stiles grinned. “Just trust me? Besides, I can help you study for all of the exams we have this year, I’ve already taken them.” 

Looking vaguely amused, Erica raised an eyebrow at Stiles. “And you remember all the answers?”

“Most of them.” Stiles admitted. “I don’t have an eidetic memory. But I do remember covering half of the material. When I was actually in class. I missed a lot.” 

Erica’s lips twitched, and she glanced down at the table, letting out a small laugh. “So your memory about it is sort of iffy, huh?” She teased.

“A lot of things can happen in a year.” Stiles looked defensive. “So, we’re good, right? Friends?” 

Erica hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. We’re good. We’re… friends.” She looked up at him and gave him a tentative smile.

Stiles grinned. “Good.” He nodded. “It would be kind of hard to protect you from assholes if you didn’t let me sit with you at lunch.” 

“I’d like that.” Erica murmured, smiling back at him. “Beats sitting alone, anyway. And… maybe we can invite Boyd to sit with us?” She suggested. “And Scott?”

Stiles nodded. “And, uh, this guy named Isaac Lahey. Do you know him?” 

Erica tilted her head. “Sort of? Seems really quiet. Really gun shy, like a startled deer, every time someone does… well, anything.” She shook her head. “I don’t talk to him, but he doesn’t talk to anyone, either. Like… ever.”

“That’s another thing that we’re going to change.” Stiles nodded. “We’ll be better off for it. I know we will.” He sat back in his chair as he thought about how he had driven past the Argent house at least twice since he had seen Allison at the bookstore. The place looked empty, so he wasn’t sure what she had been doing in town. It wasn’t as though he could ask her. He glanced at the phone beside his other hand, wondering if it was that easy. He could try dialing her phone number, but he wasn’t sure what he would say when or if she answered. 

Erica watched him look at the phone, but didn’t comment on it; if he hadn’t said anything out loud to her, then it was no business of hers to even ask, whether she was curious or not. Instead, she glanced down at the papers he’d been looking at when she’d joined him and squinted. “Why are you reading about the Hale fire?” She asked.

“Because everything in this town goes back to the Hales, somehow.” Stiles muttered. “The fire... it wasn’t an electrical problem. It was an arson. I know who did it, too. But there are a lot of things that I still haven’t been able to put together.” 

Pausing, Erica mentioned, “My dad’s an insurance adjuster. He isn’t the one that looked at the Hale fire, but he knows the investigator who did.” She hesitated for a moment, and then added, “He quit the job right after he did the investigation. He’s one of the bus drivers now.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah.” He glanced down at his hands, then looked back up Erica. “Hey, do you think he could be convinced to turn himself in?” 

Erica bit her lip. “I’m not really sure.” She admitted. “I’ve never talked to him myself. I suppose it’s always possible? He did resign really, really fast. My dad always said that it was odd, that it always took weeks for his boss to approve even a vacation request, but that this Myers guy got all of his vacation time paid out and was gone in, like, hours.”

“Okay.” Stiles murmured. “So I’ll go talk to him in a couple of days. I have some time. Not much, but some.” 

Erica stared at him curiously, and then said, hesitantly, “Do you want any help?”

Stiles smiled slowly. “Yeah, I do.” He told her. “You know, there’s one thing - I never got a chance to ask you. What are you planning on doing after high school?” 

Shrugging, Erica smiled a little. “I haven’t really thought about it yet. I mostly just wanted to survive high school, you know?”

Now it was Stiles’ turn to stare at Erica again. He nodded. “I do know.” He started gathering his books. “I need to go. I have a few things I have to do. Do you need a ride home or anything?” 

Erica shook her head. “I walked here, I can walk back.” She told him, shrugging. “I’m fine.”

“Just because you did, that doesn’t mean you have to.” Stiles pointed out. “But no pressure.” 

Tilting her head a little, Erica nodded slowly. “Good point.” She murmured. “Okay. I’ll accept that ride.”

Stiles smiled and walked out of the library with Erica. “So, did anyone give you trouble about the milk thing?” 

“Weirdly not.” Erica replied, tugging a little at her hair as she followed Stiles. “I’m not sure if they were just that scared of you, or what, but, um… It’s not like I mind it.”

“Not like you mind what?” Stiles asked, confused. “Taking a milk bath in the cafeteria?” 

Erica shook her head. “No, no. It’s not like I mind them being too scared of you to do anything to me.”

“Oh.” Stiles laughed. “I can usually follow a conversation better than that, even if it splinters off in different directions. I guess I’ve had a lot more on my mind than usual. But yeah. I like that they're scared of me, too. I’m finally Batman. For real this time.” 

Erica laughed. “Batman? Who’s your Robin?” She asked, grinning. 

“Scott. For now.” Stiles smiled back. “I really should take on an apprentice or something, though.”

“Who would you even pick?” Erica asked him. “It's not like I see you hanging out with that many people, I mean… No offense.”

“None taken.” Stiles murmured. “Scott and I decided when we were four that we didn't need other friends.”

Erica hesitated before asking, “So what’s made you change your mind now?” Her voice was soft. “Is it because of… Before? Your other timeline? Because it was us?”

“Yeah, sort of.” Stiles glanced at Erica. “Actually, all three of you were assholes. You, Boyd and Isaac. You were threatening to kill Lydia just because Derek... you’ll meet Derek eventually... just because he said she had this problem that she didn’t actually have. You yanked the carburetor out of my Jeep and hit me with it. Knocked me unconscious. And then you threw me in a dumpster. I know that sounds insane, but yeah. It happened. Still, I was doing everything I could to keep you guys safe because Derek was a failure as a leader. It wasn’t his fault, he was just... Derek.” He snorted. “We did become friends, though. I just thought it would be nice to get an early start on it and avoid getting hit in the head.” 

Erica looked appropriately horrified. “I hit you? What the hell sort of person was I? And Boyd, he'd never hurt anyone. Or Isaac. Who is this Derek guy? Do I even want to meet him?” She looked upset. “I don't want to hurt you or threaten to kill people. That's not who I am. Even the jerk that dumped his milk on me, I wouldn't wish anything bad to happen to him.”

“Okay, so we’re already turning things around.” Stiles murmured. “You won’t do that this time.” 

Erica shook her head. “I won't. I really won't.” She told him earnestly. 

“I haven’t told Scott a lot of this stuff. I know he’ll freak out, if I do. He’ll be pissed if he figures out that I’ve already told you more than I’m telling him, but it’s all to keep everybody safe. I have to let some of it happen and that just sucks for me. But I’m glad I can at least talk about it a little.” Stiles pulled up in front of Erica’s house. “Oh, we should probably talk to Danny, too. Or at least, someone should. Not me. He hates me.” 

Erica’s gaze went distant, and she blinked. “Danny? Mahealani? He doesn't hate you. He doesn't hate anyone. He's the nicest guy on the planet.” She let out a disbelieving laugh. “Everything you've told me and that’s the thing I don't believe. Why on earth would you think that he hates you?”

“I kind of have a tendency to annoy people.” Stiles pointed out. “Danny’s one of them.” 

Erica sputtered out a laugh. “If that’s what you think, sure, Stiles.”

“What do you mean?” Stiles looked confused. “I ask him questions all the time about being gay and he either tells me to shut up or ignores me.” 

“Why does that have to mean he hates you? Maybe he just gets embarrassed about it and doesn’t know what to tell you.” Erica pointed out.

“Danny wouldn’t be embarrassed about who he is. He’s the most together guy I know. Confident. Not like me.” Stiles shrugged. 

“Well, it’s a thought.” Erica sighed. “At any rate, I don’t think he hates you. But that’s just me, I guess.” She smiled faintly at him. “Would you - would you want to exchange phone numbers, maybe? Just… because?”

“Yeah.” Stiles got his phone out of his pocket and started a new contact for Erica. He told her his phone number, then smiled. “So, you really like Boyd, yeah?” 

Erica casually typed in his phone number, avoiding his eyes, even as her cheeks were turning pink. “He’s… nice.” She said softly.

Stiles grinned. He had considered asking Erica out, but he knew it was a lost cause. It was nice to see that Erica had liked Boyd even before Derek gave both of them the bite. “Why don’t you ask him out, then?” 

“Oh… He wouldn’t want to date me.” Erica shook her head, laughing nervously. “What would he even see in me?”

“You’re beautiful, for one thing.” Stiles said earnestly. “And you’re kind. Nicer than me. Not that it takes a lot.” He snorted. “And if he turned you down, I don’t care that he could probably break me in half. I’d hit him for being stupid.” He smiled crookedly. 

Erica stared at him, blinking rapidly. “No one’s ever said that to me before.” She said softly after a moment. “That… that I was beautiful.” She bit her lip. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Stiles leaned toward Erica to hug her. This time, he would do what he had to do and make sure that Erica and Boyd survived. If it didn’t work out, he would find his way back again, and again. He was sick of people dying around him. 

Erica leaned into Stiles, hugging him back tightly and closing her eyes for a brief moment. “Thank you for dropping me off.” She exhaled, and pulled back. “I should… probably get inside the house before my mom tweaks out or something.” She smiled softly. “I’ll give you a call. Or a text. Whichever.”

Stiles nodded. “I’ll see you at school, too. Maybe we can start sitting together? With Scott and Boyd and... whoever else.” 

Erica grinned at him, nodding. “I’d love that.” She told him, and reached out to squeeze his hand without hesitation. “Thank you, Stiles.” She opened the door and slid out of the passenger seat. 

Stiles waited for Erica to go into the house before he drove away. He wasn’t too far from his own house, but he found himself driving past the Argent house again, anyway. Seeing Allison had rattled him, and he still wondered if she had been around, someone he just didn’t notice. It was making him wonder who or what else he hadn’t paid any attention to, like the crush Erica had on him in middle school when he was still spending all of his free time gawking at Lydia. 

Allison looked around her old - her new - she blinked, and then shook her head, laughing at herself. She gazed around her old-new bedroom happily and with no small amount of satisfaction as she set down a box of her things. They still had a while before her family fully moved into the house, but she’d been adamant about coming down nearly every day and moving her things a little at a time. Taking the few steps to her window, she opened the curtains and stared at the adjacent roof, smiling nostalgically as she remembered showing off for Lydia on her first time sneaking out of the house. Lydia… Allison exhaled, blinking. She would have to absolutely make sure to bring her future best friend into the know. She had no plans on keeping Lydia in the dark this time, since the first time around had been disastrous enough. She looked up when a flash of blue caught her eyes, and found herself smiling again as she recognized Stiles’ Jeep. She found herself wishing that this Stiles was _her_ Stiles - the Stiles from her original timeline, rather. She’d spent days keeping everything a secret, and she hadn’t realized how difficult it was - and how lonely she’d been feeling. She sighed softly, lifting her fingers to the window as she watched the car drive past.


	6. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Stiles drummed his hands on the table in front of him in time with the song playing in his head as he waited for Erica and Boyd to come sit with him and Scott. It was the second day of this new development, and he hoped that today wouldn’t be as awkward as yesterday had been. He had also made a point of being nicer to Danny, giving Isaac some less than subtle suggestions that law enforcement get involved in the situation with his dad, and he even felt charitable enough to be nice to Jackson. Instead of trying to get Lydia’s attention, he just nodded to her in the hall a couple of times between classes. Other than that, he stayed focused on his internal struggle as to whether or not Peter should be used as a werewolf DNA donor before Stiles outright killed him to keep him from causing problems. 

Erica made her way to the table, her fingers shyly twined around Boyd’s. She looked up at the boys and smiled faintly, ducking her head.

Scott grinned at her. “Well, that’s new.” He teased, his eyes focusing on the couple’s hands.

“But awesome.” Stiles added, smiling. 

Erica grinned, nodding. “Very awesome.” Now that she’d shown off the new status of her relationship with Boyd, she twined her hand even more tightly around his, squeezing gently.

Boyd sat down beside Scott. “I’m not complaining.” He smiled. 

Stiles’ gaze wandered around the cafeteria as Boyd said something else. He was frustrated with having to wait for January, wondering how and why he had ended up an entire year back instead of just before Scott was bitten. 

Allison hadn’t been able to resist. She’d gotten frustrated and exhausted with having to wait until the move to Beacon Hills was permanent and official, and she’d caved and begged her parents to be allowed to visit the high school. Her excuse had been that they’d need to tour it eventually, in order to see the quality, and look around at the layout so that she wouldn’t have a difficult time trying to find her future classes, but the truth had been much, much simpler - she was desperate to see her friends. It had been nearly a full month since the last time she had even laid eyes on Lydia, past timeline included, and the few peeks she’d gotten of Stiles had been making her more and more frustrated. Curiously, she missed Scott as well, but there was nothing there of the romantic, Romeo and Juliet-esque desire she’d once felt for him. She missed him, of course - he was still one of the people she loved the most in the world - but it wasn’t an all-consuming need to see him. She poked her head around the door of the cafeteria, chewing on her lower lip nervously as she peered inside, hoping to see those familiar faces.

Stiles sat up straight in his seat when he saw Allison. He started to lift a hand in greeting, then remembered himself and flailed in annoyance, hoping that Scott was too caught up in his conversation with Boyd to have noticed. 

Scott reached out without looking and grabbed Stiles, thinking his friend was about to fall off of his chair from his movements. He finished his discussion with Boyd, and then looked over at his friend curiously. “You okay, bro?”

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. “I have to go take care of something.” He got up from his seat and walked toward Allison. It was going to mess things up with how Scott and Allison had met before, but at this point, Stiles wasn’t sure he cared about that. “Hey, bookstore girl.” He smiled crookedly at Allison. “Are you going here now?” 

Allison straightened, smiling back at him. “Hi, there, bookstore boy.” She replied, a broad smile crossing her face. “I will be. In another few weeks. My parents are with the principal. I’m giving myself a tour.”

Stiles laughed. “You voluntarily came here instead of enjoying time off from school?” He shook his head at her. “Are you hungry?” 

Allison hesitated, starting to shake her head no, before she nodded abruptly. “Actually, yes, I am.” She said softly. “And I’m off of school right now. My parents pulled me out. The one I’ve been attending isn’t very good.”

“Okay, so come have lunch with us, then.” Stiles gestured toward the table where Scott was sitting with Erica and Boyd. “Uh... what’s... what’s your name, anyway?” He tried not to cringe at how lame he sounded. He might as well have said, ‘what’s your name, Allison?’ 

Allison closed her eyes briefly, but smiled. “Allison. My name is Allison Argent.”

“Nice to meet you. Again.” Stiles tried not to laugh at how odd that sounded, given the circumstances. “I’m Stiles.” 

Allison stuck her hand out at him. “Nice to meet you, again, Stiles.” She said, beaming at him.

Stiles shook Allison’s hand, then led the way to the table and introduced her to Erica, Boyd and Scott. He sat back down and picked up his plate of fries, setting it down in front of Allison. 

Allison stared at the plate, smiling faintly, and reached out to pick a fry up before biting it.

Scott gaped at Stiles, glancing back and forth between the plate, Stiles himself, and Allison before he jabbed Stiles in the side. “Since when do you share your fries?” He hissed under his breath.

Stiles blinked. “Since Allison can’t buy her own, she doesn’t have an ID to scan for that.” He shrugged. “She can make it up to me later.” 

Scott tilted his head. “Okay, fair enough. But it’s you. Sharing your fries. That doesn’t… that - you won’t even let me share them.”

“Are you seriously jealous right now?” Stiles asked, staring at Scott as he grinned. 

Scott scowled, and then reached across Stiles to make an attempt at the fries his friend had set in front of Allison. “‘M not jealous.” He mumbled.

“A little bit, yeah?” Stiles countered. He glanced over at Allison again. “We’re not normally like this. It’s kind of been a weird week. Apparently, I’m a complete asshole who needs to make more friends? Or so I’ve been told.” His gaze went to Erica and he smiled. 

Erica looked up and beamed at Stiles before she looked back down at her plate and tilted her head toward Boyd to talk with him.

Allison glanced at Erica, and then looked at Stiles before she glanced down at the plate and subtly tugged it out of Scott’s reach. She smiled at Stiles. “It’s okay. It’s been… a weird month for me.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that now.” Stiles shrugged a shoulder at her. “Anyway, if you feel bored... Scott works at the animal hospital. Maybe if you stop by there, you can look at puppies or something?” 

Allison squinted at Stiles in confusion, her eyes darting over to look at Scott briefly before she looked at Stiles again. “Um… Well, I guess I could.” She said hesitantly. Was not-her-Stiles trying to set her up with Scott already? “I mean, I’d have to check with my parents, just to be sure that I even could. Although, it would be a good excuse to harass my dad into actually getting me a puppy.”

“See?” Stiles grinned, nudging Scott. He knew he wasn’t subtle, but he didn’t care about that. He hadn’t before, either. He just hoped he wouldn’t fall back into all of his old habits. “He’ll be there tonight.” He sat back in his seat and took a drink from his bottle of water. 

Scott gave Stiles an odd look, then peered at Allison apologetically. “Sorry. Sometimes he develops a twitch. And then sometimes, he’s just weird.”

Allison’s lips twitched, and she immediately looked down, trying not to laugh. “It’s okay.” She murmured. “I’ll see if I can come around tonight. We might have to head back to San Francisco before the day’s over.”

Stiles slouched a little in his chair, idly playing with the fork he hadn’t even needed. He was just trying to make sure everything went well and everyone stayed safe, and it seemed like the more he did successfully in that regard, the more his best friend treated him like he was psychotic. 

Scott glanced at Stiles, sighing. “Sorry.” He said quietly, turning toward his friend a little. “Really. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, man. Just…” He frowned a little and shrugged. “I just don’t get why you’re, like, pushing me toward this girl.”

Stiles quickly glanced at Allison, then looked at Scott. “What?” He frowned. “Scott, what the fuck?” He tilted his head back, then got up from the table and grabbed his backpack. “Nope. Enough. I’m getting out of here for the day, I can’t do this. Bye.” He rushed from the cafeteria, going to his locker. 

Scott looked confused, but got up and hurried after Stiles. “Wait, dude, what - did I misunderstand?” He stopped at the locker, frowning at Stiles. “Isn’t that what you were doing? Trying to, you know… set me up?” He faltered, looking uncertain. “Did I get it wrong?”

Stiles sighed. “You know how I told you to always keep an extra pen on you from now on?” He asked quietly. “Well, Allison is the reason for that. See, before... we didn’t meet her until the second semester. And she forgot a pen, so you gave her one. And that was the start of the two of you being together. You like her, right? You think she’s beautiful, don’t you? I mean, you wouldn’t shut up about her, last time around. But this is... I don’t understand you right now.” 

Scott held his hands up, looking lost. “I mean, yeah, she’s beautiful, but… I don’t really see how… she would be with me?” She shrugged helplessly. “She didn’t exactly look interested, Stiles. And… I don’t know, it just seemed like she was… more interested in you?” His words were hesitant. “Maybe… Maybe werewolf-me saw something different in her? Or maybe the only reason I liked her was… because I was a werewolf.” He frowned deeply at himself. “... I’m not even making sense to myself right now. She’s - really, Stiles, she’s gorgeous, but I don’t think she’d go for me.”

“Well, you’re wrong, because she likes you. And she doesn’t like me. Not like that. Fact of life, bro.” Stiles shook his head. “You get the girl. Twice. Well, that is, _her_ twice. Then another one. And there’s this whole thing with... you know what? I’m not telling you anything else. I’m just going home.” 

“Okay.” Scott said softly, still looking confused. “Um… Okay. I’m sorry. For… everything, I guess? I guess if she comes to the clinic tonight, I could, like, ask her out or something.” He stepped back. “But yeah, I guess I should let you go.”

Stiles’ jaw clenched. He wasn’t even sure why he was so angry. It wasn’t Scott’s fault that he didn’t know everything that he hadn’t yet been through, but Stiles had never been the most rational person. “See you later.” He shut his locker door and walked out to the student lot. 

Allison passed the doorway and stopped by Scott, peering out after Stiles worriedly. “Where is he going? Is he okay? Did anything happen?”

Scott glanced at her, and then looked after Stiles. “Um. He just - he’s just heading home.” He said quietly. “I don’t think he’s okay, but I also don’t think he wants to talk to me about it.”

Allison stared out after Stiles, chewing on her lower lip anxiously, and a second later, she bolted out into the parking lot after him. “Wait! Wait, Stiles!” She called after him.

Stiles turned to look at Allison, but he sighed and nodded to her, waiting for her to catch up to him. 

Allison slowed to a stop beside him, and wrung her hands together. “Is - are you okay? Are you - why are you leaving?”

Stiles thought carefully before he spoke, not wanting to scare Allison off. He had known that Scott wouldn’t abandon him for what he had to say, and he had taken a chance on Erica listening to him because he knew that she had a belief in things that most people didn’t talk about, even before she had learned that werewolves existed. But Allison had reacted badly when she found out the first time around, and he didn’t see it going any differently now. “Sometimes I just feel like I don’t belong here, that’s all.” 

Allison’s face softened, and she gave him a weak smile. Thinking back to the loneliness she’d been feeling, and how out of place she’d felt since she’d come back, she nodded slowly. “I know that feeling.” She murmured. “You aren’t alone in that.”

“I really think you’ll like Scott.” Stiles spoke without thinking, then faltered and glanced up at her, trying to recover. “I mean, the books you were looking at the other day. He likes those, too.” 

Allison couldn’t explain the unhappiness she was suddenly feeling at Stiles’ words, just as much as she couldn’t explain why her romantic interest in Scott was all but nonexistent. She shifted a little, but nodded, sighing. “Okay. I guess it’s good for us to have something in common, right?” She asked, staring at her feet.

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. He felt sick at the thought of having to go through everything all over again, and he wanted to undo whatever the hell he had done to end up here. This wasn’t right. Nothing could be fixed. Scott and Erica had to become werewolves, and he was going to one day find himself possessed again by someone that would kill most of the people he knew. “Um.” He took a deep breath. “I’m glad you’ll be here with us. This town can be... this town sucks.” He forced a smile for her benefit. “So at least we’ll have each other. I mean, the group of us.” 

“Right.” Allison murmured quietly, watching Stiles’ face. “We’ll have each other.” She hesitated briefly, and then reached forward and set her hand down on his. “It’ll be a good thing. For us to have each other.”

Stiles glanced down at Allison’s hand over his. “You really should talk to Scott.” He said again. “I just think the two of you would be good together.” 

Allison breathed in deeply, staring up at Stiles. There was something about the way Stiles kept mentioning her and Scott together, like he believed with all of his heart that the two of them should connect. Like he was trying to… make sure that the timeline followed the original as closely as possible. She sucked in another breath, this time of realization. There was only one reason she could think of why Stiles would be so adamant for this relationship, for something that was long over for her, to repeat.

Stiles stared back at Allison, a growing feeling of dread in his stomach as he watched the expression on her face change. “Shit.” He whispered, gulping as he closed his eyes. 

Allison exhaled, her mouth opening as she shook her head in disbelief. “Stiles?” She whispered. Her hand involuntarily went up to cup his cheek. “ _My_ Stiles?”

Stiles opened his eyes again. “Your Stiles?” He repeated, but nodded, sighing. “I think we need to have a long talk. Can you come with me right now, or do I have to wait?” 

Allison licked her lips and took a deep breath again. “I’ll have to say something to my parents, but… yeah, I can come with you. I think you’re right. We need to talk.”


	7. Theories of Prosperity

The drive to his house had been silent, and Stiles had only glanced over at Allison twice as he got out of the Jeep and led the way into his living room. He sat down on the couch, resting his hands on his knees as he turned slightly toward her. “Where are you from? Or when, I mean. _When_ are you from? Wait. Let me go first. I was... I was dying. I had been freezing, but then everything went numb and I wasn’t shivering anymore, and all I could think was that I wanted to do it all over again. To fix it. I’d change things.” He smiled sadly. “And then I woke up here, exactly one year earlier, and I realized that I couldn’t just go kill Peter and solve all of our problems. I thought it started with him, but it doesn’t. It starts with Kira’s mom, before either of us were even born. We can’t fix that. And the next one, the other one we can’t control? Jennifer Blake. I mean, the reason she looks like a half-melted pez dispenser. If Scott doesn’t become a werewolf, then... we’re all dead. I told him that much. I didn’t know what to do. I thought I’d give him a choice this time, but then I figured out that he can’t actually say no. It would ruin everything if he did. So instead, I’m trying to fix the things that I actually can fix. Like getting Erica, Boyd and Isaac onto our side before they can try to kill Lydia. I’m not sure if I should let Laura Hale die or not. It makes me sick that I’m thinking I have to let her, but if she bites Scott, he might stay a beta.” He stopped talking for a moment. “Was it all like that for you, too? Or are you from somewhere else entirely? Somewhen, sorry.” 

Allison exhaled in disbelief, putting her head in her hands. “I was dying, too.” She said softly. “I was… run through with an Oni blade. And the last thing I remember is wishing I could change things, and do it all over again. Fix it. The last thing I saw was Scott, crying over me. And then I woke up in San Francisco, in my old bedroom. And my mom was alive.” She pursed her lips together tightly, shaking her head. “I can't be with Scott again. I can't risk anything happening to him again. We weren't even together, at the end. He was dating Kira and I had my… whatever it was with Isaac, but it still ended up with him holding me as I died. I still love him. He'll always be my first love. But I can't do that to him, Stiles. I can't be with him again.” She looked up at him and bit her lip. “I know you were trying to get the timeline to follow the old path, by getting us together, but maybe… maybe my being together with Scott was part of the problem. Do you know…” She trailed off, her eyes going distant, and she let out a little laugh. “I don't even remember what drew me to him in the first place. I remember thinking… he was kind of cute. Great eyes. Kind. A little funny, a little naive, and a little clueless. Someone good, but not… not someone I would ever have seen myself with. But he always seemed to know what I was thinking, and how I was feeling, and he always seemed to know how to do just the right thing.” She shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Of course, then I found out about the werewolf thing and realized how he seemed to always know just what to do.”

“He’s a good guy. You know he is.” Stiles said weakly. “You don’t have to date him if you don’t want to, but... the party. And bowling. Those things - he had never been able to do them before, nobody else wanted him. You gave him something to fight for. You were his anchor. Without you being that for him, he’ll have to find a new one. I don’t know where to even begin with that.” He glanced toward the staircase, then stood up. “Come upstairs with me. I want to show you something.” 

Allison stood, guilt settling in the pit of her stomach at Stiles’ words. She swallowed, then gestured. “Lead the way.” She mumbled. 

Stiles walked up to his bedroom and stood in the center of it, glancing around at the walls. He had taken down his posters to make room for the papers he had pinned into place, nearly covering the entirety of his bedroom. He pointed to one wall. “The timeline starts there, and it goes to here.” He gestured to the adjoining wall. “All the way around. Not just stuff that happened and how and when, but I also have the way I think things might turn out differently, if I - if we intervene.” He moved toward the start of the timeline. “January second was the day that Peter bit Scott. So that means that Laura should be coming back sometime in the next couple of weeks. It took Derek not hearing from her to come back here and see what was going on. Or he felt her die, I don’t know. We didn’t exactly talk much about that.” He turned toward Allison. “I think you should know that I’m working on a plan to get your aunt arrested before she can shoot Derek. It’s better than Peter murdering her, anyway. And all of those other people, too.” 

Allison’s gaze moved to Stiles, and she nodded firmly in agreement. “Now that I know what she did… I can’t condone anything she did. She’s sick. She needs help. And prison time. Finding out what she did to Derek’s family made me - still makes me - sick to my stomach.” She bit her lower lip. “I just want to save everyone. I know it’s not possible, but… I don’t want anyone to die in this town anymore. Even people I’ve never met. I don’t even want the people involved in the fire to die - at least, not the way that Peter killed them.” Her eyes darkened, and she glowered. “Although if he gets anywhere near Lydia again, I’ll murder him myself. There’s got to be a better way to get her nascent banshee to appear.” She exhaled, and looked around the room curiously, approaching the wall that held their current position on the timeline. Her eyes flitted to the vague scribble about Laura Hale’s return to Beacon Hills, and she paused, thinking. She turned back to Stiles. “Laura came back because Peter had that gofer-slash-nurse of his send Laura a picture of that deer, right?” She fidgeted a little. “Do you think we could stop him before it ever goes that far? Maybe instead of an insane, murdering fire victim viciously assaulting Scott, we could get Laura to turn Scott?” She looked up at him. “I know you aren’t sure if you should let the timeline continue the way it did before, with Peter murdering her, but… the way it happened before. Scott was so miserable about it. Contrary at every turn, lying to everyone, even you. I remember, you know? The night we got stuck at the school, with Peter? I remember Scott telling us that Derek was the one trying to kill us, and I remember seeing the _look_ on your face, Stiles. Scott was never a good liar, but I remember that night, and I remember feeling so insulted that he couldn’t bother to tell us the truth about what was happening. I get why he didn’t, but it didn’t make me any less angry. I’m not - I never was Derek’s biggest fan, but for Scott to throw him under the bus at every turn the way he did was too much, especially when it came out that Derek was trying to help him.” She paused, and amended, “I mean, he was sucking at it, but he was trying, right?”

Stiles nodded. “Back then, I think he knew that the Alpha pack was a threat. He just never mentioned it. He became an alpha after he killed Peter, then went looking for weaker people to turn. I think I gave him that idea in the first place.” He looked embarrassed, glancing at the wall again. “I told him about how Scott had bad asthma and then he didn’t. And how he was a lot stronger for it. Anyway. The fact that we’re here, in our own timeline. Universe? Whichever. It at least means that neither of us crossed into here from somewhere else. So it’s not like we’ll find out tomorrow that there’s like, Cthulu under our school or something. Unless that happens in December of next year.” He snorted. “Okay.” He took a deep breath as he stared at the words ‘Peter kills Laura Hale.’ “If I tell my dad...” He hesitated. “If I tell him right now, he might not believe me. He likes proof. I don’t know how to give him that yet. But if I can convince him, then he could get in touch with police in New York and have someone ask Laura and Derek to come out here earlier than they did. I’ll let them decide how to deal with Peter, I guess. That takes care of him, but not the nurse. I could steal her badge and that would at least cause her some trouble getting access to places for a day or two, maybe? I’m just trying to fix all of this. That’s what we’re doing here. We’ll fix it all.” 

Allison nodded, staring up at him worriedly. Without thinking, she reached a hand out and placed it against his. “We will.” She said firmly. “We might not get everything - fate and destiny and stuff might get in the way and we might end up screwing up, or… or people that are meant to die will still die.” She swallowed roughly. “But we’ll fix what we can, until… until the people we care about are more or less safe.” She let go of Stiles and turned to look at the timeline again. “If Laura survives, we can ask her - ask her to bite Scott. And… he’ll need to give his full approval and everything, if she agrees, he has to absolutely be into the idea. Because… because she’ll be his alpha, and… and she’ll probably treat him better than Peter did. She’ll help him more than Derek could. And… and maybe Derek won’t be as angry and hurt, if he still has Laura around.” She licked her lips. “And Scott - Scott became a True Alpha because of who he is as a person. Maybe that will still happen.” She turned to look at Stiles again. “His eyes started turning red when Jennifer and the Alpha pack came. Maybe they will again.”

“Yeah. But this all starts with me telling my dad.” Stiles grabbed the back of his computer chair and pulled it away from his desk in order to sit down, then realized what he was doing. “Uh, you can sit wherever. Did you want this chair?” 

Allison shook her head and smiled faintly. “I can sit on the bed.” She told him, and took a seat, toeing off her shoes and tucking her feet under her. “As for telling your dad…” She chewed on her lower lip, staring down at her hands and thinking. “I… Maybe if I get my parents to ‘tell’ me about our little legacy, I can convince them to play show-and-tell with your dad?”

Stiles nodded. “If it comes down to that. I’ll try talking to him first and we’ll go from there. I think that covers just about everything for the next year, really. It’s all we can do for now.” 

Allison exhaled and nodded. “Yeah. I just…” She looked around the room again, and huffed out a little laugh. “I’m sorry. If I was having any doubts about you, looking around your room sort of confirmed who you really are for me.” She stared at him, smiling. “You’re really the same Stiles. The one from my timeline. The one who was with Lydia, when I was with Scott. You’re really the same one. It’s… It’s such a relief to have someone here with me that knows exactly what I’ve been going through. I haven’t been able to say a word to anyone, I haven’t even tried writing anything down because I was so terrified that my parents might find it, or worse, that Kate might eventually find it. I’ve been going completely stir crazy with no one to talk to.”

“I told Scott a little. I told Erica even more.” Stiles admitted. “But I haven’t told her that she died. I don’t need her freaking out over that. I just said that she and I became friends and I wanted an earlier start this time around, on that. I don’t know who did it or how we ended up back here. That’s got me a little nervous. But I’m mostly just taking advantage of having the answers to homework and tests already.” He smiled faintly. 

“God.” Allison laughed softly. “I never even thought about using that to my advantage.” She glanced at him. “The high school I was attending was _really_ bad.” She rubbed at her eyes a little, and then said, softly, “I need to talk to Erica and… make an effort to get to know her better this time. Last time, it was just…” She looked ashamed. “Anger issues, and catty fights and jealousy about Scott, and…” She faltered. 

“And Erica, Boyd and Isaac thinking that killing Lydia was a great idea. And Derek told them to do it.” Stiles nodded. “And me kidnapping Jackson and ending up with a restraining order against me. We’ve all made mistakes. This time, we won’t make them again. At least, not the same ones.” 

Allison nodded at him. “Okay.” She said softly. “And… We need to pull Lydia into this, Stiles. I want Lydia to know, right from the get-go.” She exhaled. “I don’t… she’s my best friend. I don’t want to keep things from her or lie to her ever again. It caused too much damage before.”

“Yeah. I tried talking to her the first day I was back here.” Stiles admitted. “I forgot that she can be kind of a - she’s mean.” 

Allison laughed a little. “Yes, she is.” Her face softened. “But she’s ours.”

Stiles smiled. “Yeah, she is. She should be told. I just don’t know how to start that conversation. ‘Hi, Lydia. I know you don’t even know who I am, but werewolves are real and you can sense death.’” 

Allison grinned at him softly. “Let me deal with that. I want her to know right away, but I’m not going to walk right up to her and blatantly tell her everything and expect her to believe me. Same thing as with your dad. I’ll need proof.” She paused, and sighed. “Her mind is completely logical. I’m going to need the most convincing proof that I could ever come up with to get her to believe me.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Stiles yawned. “But not today, probably. These last few days have been exhausting. It’s like I can’t get my mind to shut off.” 

Allison nodded, laughing. “Oh, definitely. I just keep thinking about new things and old things, and stuff that we can change, and I’m so excited, but I’m so tired…” She yawned, echoing him. Blinking, she blushed, laughing again. “Oh. Case in point.”

“You can take a nap here, if you want?” Stiles offered. “I’ll go downstairs. I won’t bother you. I’d suggest going home for that, but I plan on telling my dad when he gets home, and it would be nice to have back-up because I know he won’t listen.” 

Allison smiled at him. “I’ll be your back-up.” She agreed, nodding. “I’ve got your back.” She blinked languidly, and yawned again, rubbing her eyes, slipping down a little further down on the bed.

“Do you need an extra pillow or anything?” Stiles got to his feet and opened his closet door, turning around and giving Allison an expectant look. 

Allison’s lashes fluttered a little as she struggled to keep her eyes open. “I could use an extra one.” She requested softly, nodding a little. “I feel bad for kicking you out of your own room.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Stiles shrugged, getting another pillow out of his closet. He handed it to Allison. “I’m going to sleep on the couch in the living room.” 

Allison took the pillow and tucked it under her head, smiling sleepily at him. “Okay.” She said softly. “I can wake you, if I get up first?”

“Yeah.” Stiles smiled back. He thought about mentioning Scott’s comment from earlier, regarding Allison’s interest in him. He wasn’t sure how to say it without making things awkward. “Okay.” He said finally. “If you’re still asleep when my dad gets here, I’ll wake you up.” 

“Thank you.” Allison told him. “Um…” She laughed softly. “Sleep well, Stiles.” She reached out to touch his hand again and nodded. “I’m glad you’re here, too.”

**

A few hours later, Stiles shook Allison’s shoulder to wake her up. “Hey, my dad is home. I told him I need to talk and mentioned you. I think he might have the wrong idea about what kind of conversation we’re about to have, but I think that makes more sense than for him to just jump to the conclusion that werewolves are real. I just wanted to give you a warning that things are going to be awkward for at least a few minutes.” 

“Oh.” Allison replied, looking amused and embarrassed at the same time. She ducked her head, grinning, but shifted to her feet. “So… to make things less weird, we’re going to let your dad think that you… did stuff to me?” She teased.

“No!” Stiles blurted, horrified. “I just mean that he probably _does_ think that already, so he might say some things that are... I mean, not that I would necessarily object to that. To doing stuff. If you wanted to. Holy shit, this is awkward enough as it is.” 

Allison’s cheeks were red, from laughter and embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I just - you looked so freaked already, I couldn’t help myself, I’m so sorry.” She wasn’t sure what to say to Stiles’ comment about actually doing something, so she didn’t say anything at all - but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from thinking about it, and the more she tried not to, the more the words repeated. Awkward wasn’t a strong enough word for how she was feeling now, and she giggled nervously, standing straight and reaching for Stiles’ hand. “Want to give your dad a little bit of a scare to take his mind off of the crazy we’re about to unleash on him?”

Stiles stared back at Allison. “What kind of a scare?” He asked warily, still mortified at his reaction. 

Allison faltered a little, staring back at him with wide eyes. “Uh. Um, I was… just going to suggest we… like, pretend to have something… really… dramatic to say?” Her voice got smaller and higher, the more she said. “Nevermind.” She squeaked, finally.

“If it was anything else, I’d agree to that idea.” Stiles said quietly. “But I’m just hoping this doesn’t end with me being stuck in Eichen.” 

Allison exhaled, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid suggestion.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m with you on this. I’ll follow your lead, back you up when you need it, and… somehow, we’ll make your dad understand.”

“Hey. It wasn’t stupid.” Stiles shook his head. “And I don’t want to hear that kind of talk come out of your mouth again.” He teased. “No more insulting my friends, all right?” 

Allison shook her head with a grin, rolling her eyes. “Okay, no more insulting your friends.” She looked up at him, amused. “We should probably head downstairs now, or your dad really is going to think something hinky is going on.”

Stiles turned and practically ran from the room, sitting down on the couch when he got downstairs. “Hey, Dad!” 

John blinked at Stiles, looking at his son warily. “Hi, kiddo.” He said slowly, turning toward Stiles to face him properly. “What is it you needed to talk to me about again?” He asked, his eyes slowly moving toward the stairs as Allison carefully descended them.

“Well, it’s a little bit complicated...” Stiles began. “But you know how there are all of those movies about werewolves?” 

John’s eyes were still on Allison, but at Stiles’ words, he looked at his son, raising his eyebrows. “Uh. Yeah. What about those movies?”

“Well, what if I told you that they had a basis in reality?” Stiles asked carefully, looking up at his dad. 

John opened his mouth, and then clamped it shut again, leaning forward onto his elbows as he peered at Stiles. “... I think I would have to say that I clearly need to spend more time at home with you, and less time working.” He said eventually, frowning. “Are you okay? What’s bringing this on, son?”

“The fact that werewolves are real.” Stiles said calmly. “I know you think I’m insane or deflecting. I’m not. There’s a little more to it than this, but I figured I’d start with what’s actually the easiest part.” 

John focused on his son, preparing to reassure Stiles that whatever was actually happening, Stiles could tell him outright, that he didn’t need to lie, but something - the clarity and seriousness in his son’s eyes - stopped him. He’d never seen Stiles so calm about something before. He was silent for a long moment, and then straightened slowly and exhaled. “Okay. Explain.” He said quietly, gesturing at his son. “Tell me. I’ll listen.”

Stiles sighed in relief and gestured for Allison to come sit by him. “Allison and I are dealing with... instead of a _Groundhog Day_ , we’re having a whole year. So we’re trying to change everything. My room is wallpapered with notes on how things went before, and how they could change just from our intervention. In about another month, if we do nothing, Laura Hale’s bisected corpse is going to be found in the woods. When we were dealing with everything for the first time and I didn’t know any better, I convinced Scott to come with me to try to find it. You found me, I said he wasn’t with me to keep him from getting into trouble. And then I left him in the woods. He was attacked. Bitten, yeah. And his asthma disappeared. Hearing and sense of smell got stronger, and he was having some trouble controlling himself. And, um... are you still with me, so far?” 

John looked mildly dazed, squinting at Stiles as he tried to follow along. “Um. I think so?” He said carefully. “... You’re still my son. Just from the future. With your friend. From the future. And Laura Hale could be murdered in one month. And Scott’s a werewolf. Or will be.” He shut his eyes and shook his head before opening them again and looking at his son. “Right?”

Stiles nodded. “Right. I know it’s a lot. Too much. Imagine having to deal with it.” He snorted, shaking his head. “Allison’s parents are werewolf hunters. And the way things went before, she’s not supposed to know that yet. But also? Her aunt is one of the people that set the Hale house on fire, a few years back. Laura being murdered, along with a few other people... that’s all Peter Hale. Who doesn’t seem like he’s much of a threat, since he’s in a vegetative state. But nope, he’s a werewolf. The Hales all are. Or at least, most of them are. And one of the other guys, we’re trying to convince him to confess now. If the arsonist brigade or whatever they are can just be arrested, then Peter can’t go on a killing spree. If we can warn Laura Hale that her life in in danger, Peter can’t get to her, either. And that’s just the start of how we can repair what’s been done. But...” He glanced over at Allison, not sure what else to say. 

Allison hesitated, and then said, “We’re going to need help.” She sighed, closing her eyes before looking over at Stiles. “It’s a nice thought, that we can do it all on our own, but we really do need help. We wouldn’t be believed about half of the crap we need to make known.” She turned to John again. “We know everything that’s happened, sir. My parents know even more than I do - not about the Hale fire…” She trailed off, looking down. “At least, my dad doesn’t. My mother, I’m not so sure about.” She wasn’t happy about admitting that. Shaking it off, she added, “We can give you the names of everyone that Peter Hale targeted. Stiles could probably even find a way to get you Laura’s contact information… although I’m not sure what you would need to say to her to get her to believe what you’re saying.”

John, who’d stiffened the moment the fire had been mentioned, looked grim. “She’d believe me. I was the only one she’d talk to after the fire in the first place.” He rubbed at his face. “If Peter Hale is insane enough to murder his own niece, I’m not sure that putting the… uh, ‘arsonist brigade’ in jail would be enough to stop him. There were eight deaths in that fire. Talia Hale, her husband, her parents, her sister, two young children, and Peter’s wife.” John cleared his throat. “Who was the only one who tried to escape through the front doorway, and was found burned nearly beyond recognition in a curled fetal position, with her arms wrapped around her stomach.” He paused, pursing his lips together. “Once again, I’m fairly certain jailing the perpetrators wouldn’t be enough to stop him from… doing anything he wanted to do. Especially if he’s a… werewolf.” He grimaced at the words.

“Well, maybe not jail.” Stiles agreed. “I meant prison, though. Like, needing special clearance to even get into the building. That kind of thing. But yeah, that might not be enough. We could just kill him.” He said casually. “And I wouldn’t even be suggesting it, except we did it once already and he came back because he figured out a safeguard. We won’t let him do that again.” 

John frowned. “How about… How about we just focus on making sure that Laura and her brother stay safe, first?” He nodded at Allison, and then asked Stiles, “Is she right? Can you find out a way to get Laura’s contact information?”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, just don’t ask how I’ll do that. I know someone that can help me out.” He hoped that he had built up enough of a friendship with Danny that this time around, asking for help hacking into things wouldn’t seem like such a chore. He doubted that he would have a shirtless Derek Hale to use as an incentive. 

Scratching at his chin, John furrowed his brow. “I’ll try the official methods from my end. They left a forwarding address and number with me when they left, but…” He shook his head. “They seemed scared, when they left. I didn’t know why, at the time, but… if they’re werewolves, and a bunch of… werewolf hunters killed that entire family, I guess I can understand it now. There’s just no telling if that number or address are even the same now. It’s been almost…” He glanced at the calendar, frowning. “In January, it will have been almost six years exactly since they left.”

Stiles nodded again. “Yeah. So we’ll get Laura’s number, you call her and get Derek and Laura to come here. We’ll go from there.” For the first time, he didn’t feel lost. He felt hopeful. He glanced at Allison and grinned. 

Allison looked back at Stiles and smiled back, unable to fight how infectious it was. “We might actually be able to do this.” She said softly. Looking at John, she added, “Once I actually… speak with my parents about this, I could have them talk to you, if you’d like?”

John blinked a little, then took a deep breath. “Well… let’s hold off on that for right now, okay? I’m… I know I look like I’m taking it well, but my brain actually feels like it’s ready to explode, and I’m still trying to come to terms with it.” He admitted. Scratching his head, he added, “I’m guessing seeing this crap right in front of my face would be the only way to really, uh… drive it home, huh?”

“Yeah. But the only werewolves we know don’t actually know that we know them.” Stiles pointed out. “So that’s going to have to wait.” 

“... True?” John said carefully, looking between Allison and Stiles for confirmation.

Allison grinned and nodded. “True.”

“So, that’s done.” Stiles laughed. “Do you want to stay for dinner, or do you want me to drive you home?” 

Allison opened her mouth. “I’d… love to stay for dinner, but I don’t think you should… drive me home?” She said carefully. “As of right now, ‘home’ is still in San Francisco.” Pausing, she scrambled for her phone, and then cursed, her eyes widening. “Oh my god, my parents are going to murder me.”

“Not happening.” Stiles shook his head. “Can’t you just stay overnight in the house you live in here in town? Or do you need other things, first? You could stay at Erica’s if it freaks you out to ask permission to stay here. I mean, that’s a five hour drive.” 

Allison bit her lower lip, chewing on it thoughtfully before she held up a finger. “Let me talk to my parents really quick and see what they say, first? I mean, your dad’s a sheriff, it’s not like they’d think anything dirty was going on.” She froze, and then grinned sheepishly at John. “Not that there would be.” She stood quickly and hurried off with her phone, embarrassed at how quickly she reverted to past habits the minute her mother was in her life again.

John was quiet for a minute, staring after Allison with a furrowed brow before he finally turned to Stiles. “Well. She, uh… She seemed to latch onto that idea quickly?” He tried, raising a questioning eyebrow at his son. 

Stiles shrugged and raised both hands defensively. “She dated Scott before. And this guy, Isaac. Werewolves. I’m not her type.” He changed the subject quickly, not wanting to talk about it anymore. “Speaking of Isaac, though? His dad used to coach the swim team. He’s abusive to Isaac now. I’m not sure how long that’s been going on. A while. There’s another guy in my class named Matt Daehler, and he blames Isaac’s dad for this drowning incident that happened when he was a kid. He’s fine now, he’s just a dumbass. I don’t think you could get charges brought against him for the drowning. The abuse, yeah. If there’s a way to prove it. He locks Isaac in a freezer in the basement, but you might not find evidence of that.” 

John’s gaze hardened, pursing his lips tightly together. “Oh, there are ways.” He muttered. “I never liked that jackass.” Looking at Stiles, he added, “Thank you for telling me. I can use that as an anonymous tip and look into it. He can’t tell me I can’t take a look around. I might not be able to get too good of a look at that freezer, but that won’t be the only sign, I’m sure.” He paused. “I don’t think I can do anything about this Daehler kid. But, uh. Keep an eye on him, just in case he becomes some sort of problem.”

“It’s on my list of things to keep track of.” Stiles agreed. “Talk to Jackson Whittemore about Isaac, too. He lives across the street and he hears things. He doesn’t ever do anything about it because it’s not like he actually _could_ , but still. He knows. And if he heard it, his parents have heard it.” He took a deep breath, glancing toward the kitchen before he looked at his dad again. “One more thing? I know this is a lot. I’m sorry. But I know this has been plaguing you for awhile. That case with the car accident, the woman that told you to get to the hospital because Mom was dying? You couldn’t ever find the other daughter. I know where she is. And who she is. Her name’s Malia Tate, but she’s adopted. She’s another Hale. It’ll be something we need to talk to Laura and Derek about when they get here. It’s not like we can track her, the way we are now.” 

John looked shocked, staring at Stiles in disbelief. “Jesus christ.” He murmured, swallowing roughly and dropping back against the chair heavily. “Uh… Okay, I’ll… I’ll have to make my own list.” He struggled to say, suddenly feeling exhausted and heavy with the guilt that he hadn’t listened to the woman that Stiles had mentioned. “Malia Tate… Talk to the Whittemores.” He nodded slowly. “Okay. Anything else I should know?”

“Not yet.” Stiles looked relieved. “I’m just glad I got through all of that. It’s been bugging me for a couple of weeks now.” 

John paused, staring harder at Stiles. “Weeks. Jesus, kid.” He stood and moved across to the couch Stiles was seated on, dropping down next to his son. “Why in the hell didn’t you come to me sooner? Weren’t you the kid that used to grab my face to make me pay attention to you when you felt like you had something important to say?” He wrapped an arm around Stiles, hugging him tightly.

Stiles hugged back. “Yeah, but come on. Werewolves, really?” He laughed. “You didn’t take it so well last time. I brought someone with me that could actually demonstrate it, but that didn’t work out so well. She passed out from an injury she got earlier that day. Like I said, this upcoming year is going to suck.” 

“Oh, I got that message loud and clear.” John sighed. “But come on, I could’ve suspended my disbelief a little bit, you don’t know.” He shrugged, and then paused before asking slowly, “Were we… you know. Okay? In that other… uh, time?” He looked apprehensively at Stiles. “We didn’t… you didn’t hate me or anything, did you?”

“No. I kind of thought it was the opposite, though.” Stiles admitted. “I lied a lot in the first half of the year. I had my reasons. I was trying to keep you safe. But you didn’t know that. For awhile, you wouldn’t even listen to my opinion on stuff. We would be talking and I’d say something, and you would look at Scott for confirmation.” 

John closed his eyes. “Jesus.” He muttered again. “Stiles, no. God, no, I could never hate you. I don’t know what the hell the… other me… went through, or…” He shook his head. “I might have been disappointed in you for the lying, but I could never hate you. Never. That’s not even a possibility for me when it comes to you, alright?” He cupped the back of Stiles’ head, lowering his head slightly to meet his son’s eyes. “Got it?”

“Yeah.” Stiles smiled gently. “I’ve got it.” 

A small smile curved onto John’s face, and he hugged Stiles again, dropping a loud, obnoxious kiss on the top of Stiles’ head. “Good.” His eyes glinted mischievously. “Now, go find your girl and see if she’s staying the night with us or not.”

“Dad. She’s not... it’s not like that. I’m telling you.” Stiles protested. “You’re not the first person that’s said this to me today, but seriously, you’ve got it wrong.” 

“Relax, I’m just messing with you. She’s the first girl you’ve ever brought home, whether you’re dating her or not.” John smiled fondly. “Let me have my fun for a second!”

“Rude.” Stiles retorted, smiling back as he got up from the couch. He walked into the kitchen, looking at Allison as he got a bottle of water out of the fridge and opened it. “What did they say?” 

Allison spun around to look at him, sighing. “They’re… not really happy about it, but they agreed that staying in the Sheriff’s house would be safer than me staying in the house by myself, or… whatever.”

“You don’t sound happy about it.” Stiles remarked, taking a drink of water. 

She shook her head. “I’m not happy about how unhappy _they_ were. I had to talk to each of them twice. My mother almost insisted on a third time.” She swallowed. “I missed her, Stiles. I know - I know she tried to… But she’s my mom.”

Stiles licked his lips nervously. “My mom tried to strangle me when I was a kid.” He admitted. “And I still miss her. Misguided as your mom was, she thought she was keeping you safe. We’ll have to keep an eye on her, yeah, but it won’t happen again.” 

Allison clutched the phone between her hands, nodding and staring down at the floor. “I hope not.” She said quietly. “I wanted to hate Derek. A lot. I’d probably still want to, if Scott hadn’t… How can I hate him for trying to save Scott? From my mother?” She faltered. “How can I hate _her_ for trying to keep me safe, whatever insane method she tried? How can I _not_ hate her a little bit for being so disgusted with being a werewolf that she would rather kill herself and let - and let…” Her voice shook, and she looked away from Stiles, her breath coming in choked-up pants. “She _killed_ herself. She couldn’t even pretend to stomach it, to come to - to terms with it, just so I could - just for me. She chose herself over me. Like I would just… understand why she did it. Like it was some sort of great _sacrifice_ she was making, killing herself instead of being a werewolf. I would _rather_ be a werewolf than die!” She sobbed. “She - I want to hate her for this. I want to. So much, but how can I when she’s in front of me, and worried about me, and _there_ and _alive_?”

Stiles set the bottle of water on the table and hugged Allison. “I know that she still did it, even if she doesn’t know it. It shows what kind of person she could be. But that doesn’t mean that’s who she is, Allison.” He said softly. “She’s not that person any more than I’m the one that... did the things I did. Right?” He pulled back to look at her, his breath catching in his throat. “Right? That’s not me.” 

Allison clutched at his shirt tightly, closing her eyes before nodding. “It’s not you.” She whispered in agreement. “It wasn’t you. It was circumstance. You were so unlucky, it - that shouldn’t have ever happened to you.” She exhaled, dropping her forehead to his shoulder and closing her eyes again. “I don’t… I don’t know if I can handle it if she does it again. There’s got to be a way to convince her that… She never would have done this, I know she wouldn’t have. It - she wouldn’t. She just wouldn’t.” She went silent, her fingers tightly gripping Stiles’ arms before the thought occurred to her. “She - it was Gerard. It was because… It had to be because he was there. He was watching. He never would have accepted her if she’d… he would have killed her himself.” She looked up at Stiles. “It’s Gerard.” She said again, and then nodded, looking vaguely terrified. “We have to take care of Gerard.”

“How much does a hitman cost, anyway?” Stiles joked, but he nodded back at her. “He came here in the first place because of your aunt’s funeral. He could still show up if she gets arrested. I don’t - Damn it. Okay. It should be me, right? I can do it. I’m clumsy as fuck, but I can figure it out. It’s not like we could ask Scott to do it, and I wouldn’t even consider you being the one. But I’ve got enough blood on my hands already. A little more won’t be that big of a deal. At least this would mean something. I could do it.” 

Allison shook her head furiously. “No.” She blurted. “No. You’re exactly right. You’ve got enough blood on your hands - and it wasn’t even you, Stiles. You shouldn’t be the one doing this.” She breathed out. “Please. We’ll - we’ll figure something else out, maybe… Maybe we could let Peter off the leash, just once, just to take care of Gerard, but I don’t… Please.” She trailed off, looking helplessly at him.

“Okay.” Stiles murmured. “We’ll find a way. Uh, do you... do you want a bottle of water? And I was thinking about seeing if everybody else wants to come over. We’ll order pizza. My dad is going to write you a haiku for this.” He laughed. “I don’t let him eat anything but healthy food, usually. This is different.” 

Allison huffed out a soft laugh, nodding her head. “I think that would be great.” She said softly, the tension easing out of her shoulders. “The pizza, everyone coming over, the water. All of it would be great.”

Stiles smiled. “Okay.” He got a bottle of water out of the fridge and handed it to Allison, then leaned out of the kitchen doorway to look at his dad. “Yo! Pizza?” 

John leaned his head around to look past the doorway at Stiles. “Hey. Name’s not ‘yo,’ but I’ll never say no to pizza.” He paused, squinting at Stiles. “It’s not going to be some sort of weird non-cheesy veggie number, is it?”

“Nah, go ahead and order pepperoni.” Stiles shrugged at his dad. “But get three of them. I’m inviting Scott and a few other people over. No guarantees that they’ll all come here, though.” 

John laughed. “Alright. Should I grab one of the pizzas and hide in my office when whoever shows up gets here?”

After the afternoon they’d had, Stiles didn’t want to offend his dad, so he tried to answer carefully. “Yes?” 

John nodded and patted Stiles on the shoulder. “Then I’ll do that, as long as you promise me no daredevil thing will be happening. Or sex things. Or whatever other parents worry about.”

Stiles looked horrified. “Jesus christ, Dad!” He blurted, not caring that he could probably be grounded for saying it. “I’m too old for this shit.” 

John started laughing. “I’ve got to get laughs in somewhere, alright?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title comes from a line in Believe by K's Choice. This was the only song that seemed to capture what Allison and Stiles are going through. More lines from this song might be used as chapter titles later on.


	8. Becoming the Mask

Lydia eyed Scott curiously when his phone rang. She had brought Prada in for a check-up and still wasn't sure where she had seen the guy before. “Are you going to answer that?”

Scott looked up from Prada, distracted. “Huh? Oh!” He turned and found his phone, answering it and furrowing his brows together. “Stiles? What's up, dude?”

“We’re having pizza. I invited Erica and Boyd, and Allison’s here. I texted Danny, too. But I don’t expect him to respond.”

“Sweet!” Scott replied. “So, about the next half hour, for the pizza and everyone else that's coming to get there?” He asked, bending down to peer into the papillon’s eyes. He scratched gently under Prada’s chin as he did so. “Did you order already? Can I pick a topping?”

“Pepperoni. Sorry, dude.” Stiles murmured. “I can order another one though, if you want?”

“Nah, dude, it's cool. Hang on a second, I gotta put you on speakerphone so I can check this little guy over.” He set the phone down and did as he said, putting both hands on the dog. “So Erica, Boyd, Allison, maybe Danny. Who else? Isaac?”

“Mahealani?” Lydia demanded, frowning down at the phone.

“Uh, yeah.” Stiles scratched his nose and decided to take a cue from the strawberry blonde and play dumb. Even though he knew her voice on the phone by this point in his life, he had only gotten as far as stammering and hanging up. “Who’s this?”

“Lydia Martin. Are you having a party? How many people are you inviting?” 

Stiles waved a hand at Allison and pointed to his phone, mouthing words to the brunette. ‘Lydia is talking to me!’ He lowered his hand a moment later, his mood plummeting when he remembered that he actually wasn’t the fifteen year old who would have been overjoyed by this. Slipping back into old habits felt easy, but it worried him. If he forgot, even for a moment, what his true objective was? The results would be disastrous. “Not a party. Dinner. Maybe a dinner _party_ , if you feel the need to label it.” He told Lydia. 

“I’m not doing anything after this.” Lydia’s tone was breezy, but she wasn't going to take no for an answer. “Mind if Jackson and I drop by? Danny is his best friend, after all. Inviting one and not the other to a party is kind of a weird choice. Like the two of you. I never see one of you without the other.”

“Yeah, like you even look in our direction.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “Fine, yeah. I have to order more pizza, anyway. Green peppers, Scotty? Lydia, do you want cheese and mushroom or chicken and tomato?”

Lydia froze, her gaze going from the phone to Scott. “How do you know my favorite pizza toppings?”

“I’m psychic!” Stiles blurted, terrified. “Okay, bye!” He hung up, staring down at his phone as though it had betrayed him. 

Scott blinked at the disconnected call, before looking up at Lydia. “Wha… um. So… That was weird.” He said carefully. “But he's always been sort of intuitive. Like that, I mean.”

“He’s not really psychic.” Lydia shook her head. “It’s impossible to know details about a person’s life without substantive proof of a pattern.” She realized what she had just said, reaching up to twirl a lock of hair around her finger. “Or something like that, I guess. Isn’t his dad a cop? Stalking is a crime.”

“He isn't a stalker!” Scott snapped, straightening immediately, defensive and offended on behalf of his best friend. “He's highly intelligent, perceptive and intuitive. He doesn't stalk people.”

“Then how did he know my favorite pizza toppings?” Lydia smiled, even though she was starting to get angry. “My own boyfriend doesn’t know how I prefer my pizza and we’ve been together for more than a year.”

“It's called being observant.” Scott glowered. “Not that you would know. Stiles and I have been in class with you since preschool, and you still couldn't think of my name just now, could you? Knowing how someone prefers their pizza is something that people tend to pick up on when they want to be your friend, but get ignored because they aren't popular enough to co-mingle with you.” He gently set Prada upright once more and shooed him over to Lydia before he began cleaning his equipment and putting it away. “Prada’s fine. His weight is a little off, but only by a few pounds, nothing serious and nothing to worry about. Bring him in for his next check-up, same time next month.” He told her shortly, glaring at her. “Better go drop him off and pick up your other dog if you're so intent on crashing our dinner.”

“Hmm.” Lydia laughed. “You would refer to Jackson that way, wouldn’t you? It’s a bitchy thing to do, after all. And like recognizes like. Except, of course, for the fact that Jackson isn’t a dog. With that haircut and the way you’re so quick to snap at me over your friend, it’s more surprising that you're not wearing a collar, yourself. I’ll make sure to schedule my next appointment for one of your days off.” She smiled coldly. “We’ll see you at dinner, dog boy.” She tossed her hair and carried Prada out of the room.

Scott gritted his teeth and clutched at his bag, staring down at the counter. He'd been stupid to try and confront Lydia - no one who ever had done so had managed to escape her razor sharp tongue, and all he felt now was humiliation, and an intense desire to cry. Inhaling deeply and trying to get himself settled, he shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind, and then packed up the rest of his things. He'd need to change, and wash up, and figure out how on earth he was going to survive this dinner now that he'd made an ass out of himself in front of Lydia. He groaned softly and put his head down on his bag, then took another deep breath and made his way slowly out to his bike. 

**

“So, just as a side note, here?” Stiles began, looking at Allison as he sat down at the kitchen table. “Talking to Lydia while I’m trying to pretend I’m fifteen just got a little too real.” 

Allison stared at him uncertainly, her eyes wide. “We’re going to have to be very careful from here on out.” She said softly, studying Stiles’ face. “If you start stumbling, I’ll pull you back and remind you what we’re here for. And… you can do the same for me, right?”

Stiles nodded, then hesitated, squinting at her. “The difference is, though? How do I know what’s slipping for you? I mean, if you start getting interested in Scott... that’s good, right? It’s not like he’s seeing anyone.” 

Allison shook her head. “I haven’t slipped once when it comes to Scott. I look at him, and I still see ‘ex-boyfriend from my other life.’ No, Stiles… you’ve already seen me slip a few times now.” She bit her lower lip. “When I talk about my mother.”

“Okay.” Stiles murmured. “I guess it still pisses me off a little that she’s dumbing herself down for Jackson. He’s not even worth it. And we’ve seen how she can be when she’s being true to herself. I just... I can’t deal with her like this. It sucks. I’ve always known she’s amazing. She just - last time, she didn’t even talk to me until she needed help finding Jackson. She didn’t even talk to me at the dance, and I think if you hadn’t convinced her to go there with me, she wouldn’t have. No, I mean, I know she wouldn’t have.” He licked his lips. “I’m not trying to wallow right now, but I know I’m not the guy that ever gets the girl. I’m an amusement when they’re bored. If that’s all I get, then okay. It’s better than nothing.” 

Allison shifted in her seat, unsure of how to respond to that. It felt like the bottom of her stomach had dropped out, but her heart ached sympathetically for Stiles as well. She remembered finding him absolutely bewildering the first time she’d met him, but she had figured that part of it had been because she was the new girl, encroaching on his friendship with Scott. It was sympathy for him that had caused her to convince Lydia to take him to the dance, though she knew part of it had been because it would have irritated Jackson, and part of it had been because Lydia had deserved to have a night where she was looked at the way Stiles had always tended to look at her. Now, as she looked at Stiles, she found herself thinking that it wasn’t fair for him. He deserved his chance at a happily ever after. Scott shouldn’t be the only one to ever get the girl; Stiles did, too. _Even if it was Lydia_ , she thought bitterly, and then blinked, startled at the mild venom behind the thought. Lydia deserved someone like Stiles, someone who could keep up with her intellectually, and who cared about her unequivocally. There was probably no one else on the planet that suited Lydia better than Stiles. She didn’t understand where that angry feeling had come from. “You shouldn’t settle for that.” She said quietly, eventually. “That’s no way to live - never settle for being second best. You’re worth more than that, Stiles. If a woman is stupid enough to look at you, and either doesn’t see your worth, or decides that your worth is as a living, breathing sex toy, they don’t deserve you, and they never will.”

Stiles smiled crookedly at Allison, feeling awkward once again. “You’re right.” He murmured. “I sound like a jackass, anyway. I know nobody owes me anything. I probably sound like I think otherwise, right? I guess sometimes... I do think that.” He admitted, blushing a little. “I know better, it’s just that it kind of gets easy to think that I could get someone’s attention by buying them something nice. Like if I... like the pizza thing, with Lydia. I know her favorites because I paid attention after we became friends, obviously. But I do that same thing with Scott. And you. It would be pretty amazing if just once, I got someone looking at me like... like how you looked at Scott.” 

“You will.” Allison said quietly, watching him with soft eyes. “Maybe not - maybe not right this second, or an hour from now, or the end of the week, or two Sundays from now or something, but… you will. I know you will. You’re a good man, Stiles. Someone will recognize that and fall all over you in an instant.”

Stiles laughed. “Yeah, sure. I’m marrying Cthulhu next December, right? I’m going to need like, a dozen rings.” 

Allison didn’t look amused, narrowing her eyes and poking a finger at his stomach. “Quit it. If anything, you’d probably marry Yog-Sothoth. A bunch of glowy spheres, right?” She shrugged. “No ring needed.” She paused. “Lots of mouths, though.”

“Ooh, fun!” Stiles winked. “Okay, I have a new life goal.” 

Allison snorted out a laugh and smacked at his chest. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I know I am.” Stiles agreed, nodding. “I’m not going to dwell on Lydia. I know that’s going to get me nowhere.” 

“Good.” Allison said firmly, “Because you deserve someone who would look at you twice. I love Lydia, but… she’s very good at looking straight ahead, and not taking in what’s around her sometimes.”

Stiles opened his mouth to ask Allison if she had noticed anyone else looking at him the last time around, but there was a knock on the door before he could get the words out. 

Allison looked up at the door, and then back at Stiles before shrugging and walking toward it, turning the knob and pulling the door open.

Scott entered, looking desperately unhappy as he stepped into the house. “Hey.” He mumbled, moving into the living room quickly.

“Why do you look like somebody kicked a puppy in front of you?” Stiles demanded. 

Scott winced at Stiles’ words, remembering Lydia’s parting words to him. He slumped down on the couch. “I might have… gotten ballsy enough to try mouthing off to Lydia only to get reamed for it.” He muttered.

“Friend or not, she doesn’t get to make you feel bad.” Stiles frowned. “What the hell happened?”

“She was asking about how you knew her favorite pizza, and then she called you a stalker.” Scott paused, clearing his throat. “I snapped and told her that you weren’t, and then I called Jackson a dog, and she told me without telling me that I was the one acting like a dog with the way I was defending you.” He rubbed his hands together. “She called me ‘dog boy’ on her way out the door.”

Stiles scowled as his gaze went to Allison. “I think you’ll have to say something. I shouldn't. It would be really bad.”

Allison looked speechless, putting her hand comfortingly on Scott’s shoulder. She looked up at Stiles and nodded. “I will. I’ll say something…” She trailed off, exhaling. “God, she doesn’t even know who I am. This Lydia isn’t my best friend yet. She’s not going to listen to me whether I tell her off or not.” She looked at Stiles helplessly. “What do I do?”

“Tell her to fuck off?” Stiles suggested. “But in a way that Lydia would appreciate. She didn't respect me at all until I yelled at her.”

Allison looked dubious - what worked for one person wouldn’t necessarily work for another, and Stiles and Lydia had known each other a lot longer than Allison had known her in the last timeline. Lydia didn’t know her at all now, but she bit her lower lip and nodded slowly. “I’ll try. I don’t know if I’ll succeed.”

Stiles smiled gently at Allison. “Thank you.” He hugged Scott. “Better?”

Scott exhaled softly and hugged Stiles back. “I guess. I feel like an ass. I let my temper get the better of me, and made myself look like a moron in front of her.” He scoffed. “I don’t even know what I was thinking. What, like calling her out for what she said about you was going to make her feel bad? Yeah, right.”

“I’m glad you did that, anyway.” Stiles murmured. “She needs to stop. She did before. I hope she does again.”

“I hope so, too.” Scott mumbled. “I want to like her, I want to think she’s a good person.” He shook his head slowly. “Right now, I’m not thinking very much of her at all.”


	9. Symmetry in Shadows

Lydia knocked on Stiles’ front door, clutching a gift bag with a couple of candles in it. She shook her head a little and smiled confidently as she waited for someone to open the door. 

Jackson sighed behind her. “Lyds, why are we here?” He asked, looking frustrated.

“Because I refuse to be treated like I’m somehow inferior to a couple of comic book geeks.” Lydia murmured. “I’m better than that, and so are you.” 

“Exactly. So why exactly do we need to show up to their house just to rub it in their faces?” Jackson asked. “We can do that just fine without having to stop foot into this…” He grimaced, looking up at the Sheriff’s house in distaste. “... place.”

“Jackson.” Lydia snapped, turning toward him. “Either you sit here with me for at least an hour and make conversation with these people, or you’re going to need a lot of lotion to get you through this winter.”

Jackson snapped his head around to look at her, and scowled, muttering to himself. “Fine.” He growled, folding his arms over his chest.

Allison opened the door, looking tentatively out at them both. “Um. Hi.” She greeted softly. “Come on in… Lydia, right?” 

Lydia nodded, holding her hand out. “Nice to meet you...” She gave the brunette a questioning look. 

“Oh!” Allison stuck her hand out and accepted Lydia’s, laughing a little. “Allison. Argent. I’m moving to Beacon Hills soon-ish.”

Lydia smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Allison.” She gestured to Jackson. “This is my boyfriend, Jackson Whittemore. How do you know Scott and Stiles?” 

“Oh.” Allison said again, blinking. “Um… Stiles and I were pen pals. I’ve moved around a lot, my whole life, actually, and one of the schools I went to started this pen pal program as a way to get the students back in touch with, like, writing and stuff, and Stiles just happened to be a part of the program. But we really enjoyed it, so we kept writing even after the program ended, and then it just progressed to social media and texting and stuff. And then, um, we moved to San Francisco, and my dad was here a few weeks ago, looking around town, and then he just came home and said that we were moving to Beacon Hills, and my mom said that it might be permanent, so I told Stiles, and… well, I’m just visiting right now, but here I am.” She beamed, shrugging. She’d said everything loud enough that she hoped that Stiles had heard it all.

Stiles had been listening carefully. He walked up and slung an arm around Allison’s shoulders as he looked at Lydia and Jackson. “Yeah, we’re old friends.” 

“What pen pal program?” Lydia handed the bag to Stiles. “Nothing I’ve ever heard of.” 

“Oh, you wouldn’t have.” Stiles said easily. “I wasn’t even supposed to do it. It was at Scott’s old school. The middle school he went to when he lived with his dad. He hated writing letters, so I just took over. The teacher never checked anyway, so as long as he was turning in a sealed envelope, he was getting credit.” 

Allison took a deep breath and leaned slightly against Stiles, wrapping her own arm around his waist and laughing. “I never would have known otherwise, if he hadn’t just outright said, ‘Hi, my name is NOT Scott.’”

Jackson had been eyeing Allison up and down, blatantly checking out the dark-haired girl. “Hm.” He huffed out a laugh, smirking. “Sounds… _cute_. Guess that’s the only way you can get a girl, huh, Stilinski? Pretending you’re someone else? Even a loser like McCall stands a better chance with a girl than you.”

Allison stared at Jackson, her face paling before reddening in anger. “You have a lot of nerve, coming into my friend’s house and saying that to his face. How dare you?”

“Jackson, I told you to behave yourself.” Lydia admonished her boyfriend. “I apologize for him, he thinks that he has to assert dominance over anyone else with a penis.” 

Allison kept her eyes on Jackson. “Asserting dominance is one thing. This isn’t a wolf pack. That was blatantly insulting and cruel to boot.” She turned her hard gaze to Lydia. “I’m glad that you disapprove of what he said. I’d hate to think that cruelty is a quality you both share in your relationship. Like meets like, you know?”

Lydia laughed. “Someone’s been talking about me, I see. I find it hilarious that I’m being criticized for judging someone I don’t know, when that same human habit is being extended to me.” 

“So it’s fine when you do it, but not when we do it?” Stiles muttered. “Okay. Lydia, get in here and get your damned pizza. Eat something. Stop talking.” He wrapped a hand around her wrist and tugged her into the house, leading her to the kitchen. 

“Hey.” Jackson said to Allison, following her closely. “I’m sorry if I upset you-”

“ _If_ you upset me?” Allison muttered, skittering away from him as she followed Stiles into the house.

“But you have to admit,” Jackson continued as if she’d said nothing, “It’s kind of hilarious that he spends all of his time mooning after my girlfriend, like she’d ever look in his direction twice, and the only way he actually does get involved with a girl is by pretending to be his equally pathetic friend.”

Allison growled low in her throat. She couldn’t remember Jackson ever being this sleazy, or cruel before. Well, no - the cruelty had made an appearance to everyone but her, and Lydia. Shuddering, she ignored him and sat down quietly on Boyd’s other side, silently hoping that the taller boy’s bulk would keep Jackson away from her.

Boyd looked up at Jackson, a bemused smirk on his face. “You’re an asshole.” 

Jackson smirked back at him. “Hmm. Takes one to know one - what’s your name again? Nonexistent? Invisible? I’m surprised someone even found your little hidey-hole and managed to get you to show up here.”

Boyd stood up slowly. “You know, I had my doubts when Stilinski decided to start being friendly out of nowhere. I figured he wanted something from me, and he can talk a lot. But at least when he’s talking, he’s actually saying something.” 

Jackson stared at Boyd as he stood up, and then put his hands up, backing away. “Alright, alright, point made.” His lips twitched. “Don’t make the Hulk angry.”

“Bruce Banner, idiot.” Scott muttered. “You don’t make Bruce Banner angry. It turns him _into_ the Hulk.”

Jackson rolled his eyes, brushing it off. “Whatever.”

Stiles walked back into the living room and stared at Jackson. “You obviously don’t want to be here and we don’t want you here. There’s a really clear solution. Leave.”

Jackson laughed. “That's all I was waiting for.” He turned to his girlfriend. “I just can't help myself. Sorry, babe.” He smirked. “Looks like you're on your own.” He turned and headed for the door. 

“Then so are you!” Lydia snapped, her voice shaking. “If you leave, consider yourself single, Jackson. I mean it. You’re being ridiculous!” She wasn't sure what was going on. Stiles had no right to grab her arm the way he had, but he hadn’t hurt her. Since she had left the veterinary clinic, she had been trying to figure out how Stiles knew her favorite pizza toppings. He was a lot different than he had been in October, when he had stammered his way through an apology for spilling water on her shoes. Since that moment, she had made a point of pretending he didn't exist. But somehow, he had developed confidence and knowledge that had her intrigued. He treated her like he knew her really well. If he wasn't stalking her, she wanted to know how he knew so much about her. She didn't believe for a second that he was just intuitive, like Scott had claimed. It was as though he had transformed, like the butterflies she was so fond of. 

“Oh?” Jackson replied, raising an eyebrow. “You're crazy hot, Lydia, but you aren't the only hot girl in school. I'm pretty sure I could survive if you break up with me. Half the school would just think that I had my fill of you anyway.” He'd made it to the doorway, and had turned around to face her. “It was nice dating you and everything, but I didn't want to be here, and you dragged me along anyway, so excuse me if I'm not all that torn up about getting dumped or whatever. You're special, but you're not one in a million, Lyds. Sorry. Give me a call if you change your mind.” He was out of the house without waiting on an answer. 

Allison exhaled a sigh of relief that Jackson had gone, but she raised her eyes to look at Lydia. She bit her lip. 

“He's an ass. What did you even see in him?” Erica blurted, her first words since Jackson and Lydia had arrived. 

Lydia breathed in slowly. “I’m not sure, anymore.” She admitted. “His clothing and ability to play lacrosse were - are - actually the result of my attention. Without me, he’s just another arrogant rich boy with nothing to back up his ego.” She turned toward Stiles. “Thank you for ordering pizza I actually want to eat, instead of sausage and bacon.” She took a step toward him, her gaze lowering to his mouth. 

Stiles took a step back. “Hey! No. No.” He shook his head at her. “If you ever feel like kissing me, it’s not going to be as a reward for a freaking pizza, Lydia! Okay?”

Lydia smiled slowly. “Okay.”

Allison stiffened a little, her gaze focusing on Stiles, and she pursed her lips together before daring to look at Lydia, and - that. Right there. Allison knew that expression that Lydia had on her face. She's worn that expression countless times, almost always in conjunction with boys and any interest she might have in them, for any reason. She didn't say a word about it, but she did slowly get to get feet, murmuring, “I'm going to go… grab some drinks for everyone.” She disappeared into the kitchen. 

Stiles followed Allison into the kitchen. “I was actually hoping we’d get Jackson this time.” He admitted. “Maybe prevent him from becoming the kanima. But maybe if that still happens, we can harvest his venom or something. It would have been useful against Jennifer Blake. And I’m pretty sure she’s - all right, why is that look on your face? That’s your ‘I brought the wrong book to class’ face. You kind of did that a lot, last time. Well, three times. In a week, though. Still qualifies.”

Allison looked up at him, squinting in confusion. “You paid attention to how many times I brought the wrong book to class?” She asked incredulously, and then blurted, “Thank you for not letting Lydia kiss you.”

Stiles stared back at Allison. “You're welcome? But yeah. I mean, you were having a rough time, I figured you might want to talk or something. I kind of had...” He trailed off, trying to decide how to explain. “When Scott’s dad left, I just tried to be there for him. He kind of cried a lot. Got made fun of.” He snorted. “Guess who did that, by the way? So I started bringing tissues to class. And comic books. Candy, sometimes. Which I’d eat and start bouncing off the walls. The thought was there. I had stuff for you, too. But you never seemed to need it.”

Allison stared at him, looking a little stricken. “I never thought to ask you.” She said softly. “I figured - when I was first dating Scott, I thought you - it kind of seemed like you resented me a little? And then, later on… I mean, I know I didn't really endear myself to you after everything with my mother, and I just sort of thought… if I asked, you wouldn’t really, um. Want to share. Or something.”

“No, not you. Resentful, yeah.” Stiles laughed. “I mean, I was. Scott and I are like brothers and we had no other friends, and then he wasn't answering his phone when I was having an actual crisis. And that was because he turned it off while he was with you. But that was his decision. Even if you had asked him, it was still his decision. And you did try to include me, it was just that I didn't really feel like being the fifth wheel on your double dates. So I always said no. But I’ve never had... the problem was never you.”

Allison thought about that for a moment, and then inclined her head a little to the side, nodding slowly. “Okay. But… All the same… I'm sorry. I never wanted you to feel left out. You were - are - important to Scott and I wanted you to… know that it made you important to me, too. You still are. I don't know how I'd be dealing with this now if it weren't for you. I'm so glad you're back here, in this time, with me.”

“Me too.” Stiles smiled. “Okay, we should probably actually bring everyone something to drink. We’ve taken long enough.”

Allison smiled back at him. “Agreed.” She reached out to open the fridge, pulling out a two-liter of Mountain Dew and a gallon jug of iced tea before setting them on the counter and turning back to Stiles. 

Stiles set cups down on the counter, then started pouring drinks. “I’m not sure how you’re going to befriend Erica _and_ Lydia. They don’t seem like they have anything in common. I’ve kind of given up on Boyd and Danny wanting to talk to me outside of school. Or in school. But it’s not my pack, anyway. It’s Scott’s.”

Allison shook her head. “It's not Scott’s. It’s not anyone’s.” She corrected him. “Right now, no one has anything in common. The pack is what brought us together in the first place and made us realize that maybe we could. Regardless of who leads the pack this time around, that will still hold true.” She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “That will still happen. We’ll all fall in together. Just like before.” She paused. “Maybe even Jackson at some point.”

Stiles glanced down at Allison’s hand, smiling. He gave her a one-armed hug and carried a few drinks into the living room. 

Allison stared after Stiles, her eyes widening slightly. She blew out a slow breath, blinking slowly. “Oh, boy.” She said quietly before she grabbed the rest of the drinks and slowly followed him out.

Lydia glanced up at Allison from where she was sitting on the couch. She looked from the brunette to Stiles, then redirected her gaze to Allison again. “Sorry about earlier.” She said lightly. 

Allison cleared her throat and set a drink down in front of Lydia, averting her eyes. “Don’t worry about it.” She mumbled softly.

“I’m guessing you haven’t said anything.” Lydia murmured. “I won’t say anything either, if you don’t want me to.” 

Allison paused, exhaling softly. “It just hit me, so… no, I haven’t said a word.” She replied, rubbing at her eyes. “And… I’d appreciate it if you didn’t.” She looked at Lydia. “And… while we’re on the subject of things I’d appreciate, if you could… I don’t know, ease off of Scott or something? He looked like his world crashed down around him, like someone lit all of the puppies and kittens at the clinic on fire in front of him when he came over earlier. I know he pissed you off with what he said to you, but he doesn’t stand up for himself, or other people very often, so when he does, it’s because it’s something he’s really, really adamant about. And Stiles is like his brother. Saying something disparaging about Stiles to Scott is right along the lines of insulting his mother.” She glanced at Scott for a moment, and then sat down beside Lydia. “You don’t have to be best friends with him, but I think you broke him earlier. He’s Stiles’ best friend. I’d like to avoid that happening again, mostly because… um, I’d… kind of like you and I to be friends?”

Lydia smiled. “I’ll apologize to him.” She agreed. “Honestly, can you tell me that you would be all right with a veritable stranger knowing your eating habits when your significant... _insignificant_ other doesn’t?” 

Allison tilted her head, smiling faintly. “I can’t imagine I would be, no. But…” She cleared her throat, looking awkward. “When someone’s been focused on you for a long time and… sort of hoping for a chance they might not get…” She trailed off, uncertain how else to explain Stiles’ knowledge of Lydia’s favorites in a way that wouldn’t freak the other girl out.

Lydia smiled tensely. “I’m a person, not a prize in a Crackerjack box.” 

Allison nodded slowly. “He knows that.” She murmured. “He wishes other people did, too. Now.”

Lydia pressed her lips together as she tried to think of something else to say. The last couple of hours had been frustrating, and she wanted to talk about anything but relationships and boys. “I like your jacket.” 

Allison looked startled, but a broad smile crossed her face a moment later at the words. “Thank you. My mother got it for me. She’s a buyer, back in San Francisco.”

Lydia smiled back. “Then of course we’re going to be friends.” She nodded. “At least now I don’t have to schedule myself around stupid lacrosse practices.” 

Allison laughed softly. “We should still probably go to the actual games, though. I hear it’s practically a religion here.”

“Oh, it is.” Lydia nodded. “Actually, I have a feeling that I’ll end up at practices whether I want to be there or not, since it seems that you’ll be going to them.” She grinned. “You really should consider saying something.” 

Allison’s smile faded, and she grimaced. “I’m not sure that would be such a good idea.” She said quietly. Her voice lowered even further. “He’s… been trying to push me and Scott together.” She didn’t look happy as she said it. “He says he thinks we’ll be good together. But I’m not… I’m not interested. I don’t think Scott is, either.”

“Well, if Scott was otherwise entertained, Stiles couldn’t say that anymore.” Lydia pointed out. 

“Yeah, true, but I don’t even know if he’s interested in anyone, or who to point him to.” Allison murmured, glancing at Scott. “He doesn’t seem keen on… on _anyone_ , really. Not that I’ve noticed, really.”

Lydia laughed. “You haven’t had a lot of female friends, have you?” 

Allison paused, and then said carefully, “I had one.” She bit her lower lip. 

“Oh.” Lydia looked embarrassed. “Well, I wasn’t trying to offend you. I thought I was being a little more clear. I could date Scott. At least one date.” 

Nodding thoughtfully, Allison exhaled softly. “That might work, actually. At the very least, you could say it’s to… get to know him a little better.” She shifted a little. “And… I’m not offended. It’s just, I’ve moved around so often…” She exhaled. “I never really had time to get to know a lot of people. Any amount of people.”

“Well, now you have at least two of us.” Lydia smiled. “Get used to it, Allison.” 

Allison’s lips twitched, and she ducked her head, nodding. “Okay. I guess I’m going to have to. If I’m going to be living in Beacon Hills permanently, I mean.”

Lydia gave Allison a curious look, wondering why she thought she would be moving away so soon. Instead of asking, she stood up and walked over to Scott. “Hi. Could we go talk?” 

Scott looked up at her hesitantly, and then looked at Stiles for reassurance. “Um. Yeah, I guess.” He mumbled, standing.

Stiles nodded to Scott. “I’m here if you need me.” He murmured, giving Lydia a warning look. 

Lydia smiled back at him and walked out to the front porch with her drink, turning to wait for Scott. 

Scott trudged after her slowly, turning to sit on the railing of the porch as he faced her. “What did you want to talk about?” He asked quietly, avoiding her gaze.

“I wanted to apologize.” Lydia waved a hand at him to get his attention. “Could you at least look at me while we’re talking? I may have been rude, but it was just one time. Hardly worth behaving like you broke a rib.” 

He lifted his eyes to stare at her, looking annoyed. “You called me ‘dog boy’ and insinuated that I should be wearing a collar because of the cut of my hair and the way I jumped to defend my best friend.” He said flatly.

“Yes, after you called my boyfriend a dog.” Lydia retorted. “Maybe you should stop acting like you’re somehow better than I am when all I was doing was retaliating and using your own words against you. You don’t have the first clue what being a girl is like, you don’t understand how completely ridiculous it is that we still live in a patriarchal society. I have every right to be concerned when some guy I’ve never spoken to has knowledge of me that I didn’t disclose on my own!” 

Scott went silent, and then sighed, looking down at his feet again. “I shouldn’t have said what I did.” He mumbled eventually. “And you shouldn’t have said what you did. You had every right to be concerned, you’re right about that.” He looked up at her. “But considering the person you’re so concerned about is someone that you would never need to be concerned about, not in my opinion, at least, you don’t need to worry at all. He would never hurt anyone, least of all you. I’m sorry I insulted Jackson.” He grimaced. “But given how he acted tonight, I’m considering retracting that apology.”

Lydia laughed. “We’ll just have to pretend that part of the conversation never happened, because I certainly won’t be defending him again. I am sorry for insulting you, though. And Stiles. I wanted to ask you something else, but the timing might not be the best, considering...” 

Scott tilted his head at her. “What?” He asked. “Ask me.” It was a naturally foregone conclusion that Scott would forgive her; he’d never been able to hold a grudge.

“What do you think about going on a date with me?” Lydia clasped her hands together, hoping she didn’t sound as nervous as she actually felt. She had never needed to ask a guy out before, they took care of that for her. 

Scott gaped at her, his eyes slowly going wide. “You would actually _want_ to go out with me?” He blurted.

Lydia laughed. “Yes.” She nodded. “And it seems like it wouldn’t be so bad if you gained a little more confidence.” 

Scott scratched at his head. “You… probably aren’t wrong.” He admitted. “But… why would you want to go out with me? I’m not… really your type, am I?” He asked, his voice going soft.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that if Jackson could be considered my type, it’s time for me to change things up a little.” Lydia pointed out. “You seem sweet. And you care about your friends. I’m tired of pretending I’m stupid just to make someone else feel superior. I won’t do that with you. I don’t think you would expect me to, anyway.” 

“I would hope you wouldn’t.” Scott nodded in agreement. He bit his lower lip, and then nodded again. “Honestly? I’d be stupid to say no to you. But… I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Stiles has… had the biggest crush on you. Like, for forever. I don’t… I couldn’t say yes, and not run it by him, first. I know you don’t owe him anything, but I love him. He’s my brother. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Oh.” Lydia nodded. “Okay. Should I wait out here, or is this something you want to wait to talk to him about?” 

Scott fidgeted in place, thinking about his options. Eventually, he said, “I think I should talk to him now. I don’t mind if you… If you come back in with me, though.”

“You don’t think that’s a little weird? That we came out here to talk and then... I just don’t want it to be uncomfortable for you.” 

Scott huffed out a soft laugh. “I don’t want it to be uncomfortable for anyone, really, but… I’m pretty sure that might happen anyway?” He shrugged, but hesitantly reached a hand out to her. “We’ll wing it.”

Lydia gripped Scott’s hand and smiled at him. “I really hope he doesn’t have a problem with it.” 

Scott smiled back nervously. “Me, too.” He took a deep breath, and then opened the door to the house, holding it open for Lydia.

Lydia walked into the house and sat back down on the couch. She sipped her drink and turned toward Erica and Boyd. Even though she didn’t know anyone at the house very well, she had been taught to at least greet everyone politely, whether she liked them or not. She knew she hadn’t made a good impression on anyone yet. If it wasn’t for the fact that Jackson had left her stranded there, she would have left already. But she was glad that she had stayed. 

Scott glanced at her, and then nervously made his way over to Stiles, cupping his best friend’s elbow and dragging him toward the kitchen. “Dude.” He started. “Um. I just wanted you to know that I haven’t… given an answer yet, or anything, but, uh… Lydia just asked me out. And - I wanted to say something to you before I said anything at all, since… I mean, I know how long you’ve liked her. If you aren’t okay with this, I won’t say yes, or anything. I just wanted to - I don’t want you to be upset about this. I wanted to tell you right away.”

Stiles laughed. “Shit. Um, yeah. I’m fine with it.” He nodded. “It’s probably only going to be funny to me and Allison, okay? Just one of those things. But yeah. Go ahead.” 

Scott blinked, staring at Stiles. “What - really?” He blurted, looking confused. “But I thought - you aren’t upset?”

“Nah, dude.” Stiles put his hands on Scott’s shoulders. “Listen to me. She didn’t like me in third grade, she didn’t like me between third grade and now, and she won’t like me a year from now. Not in a romantic way, anyway. If you don’t go out with her, she’ll probably get back together with Jackson and I don’t want to deal with that.” 

Scott stared back at Stiles. “This is one of those things from the, uh, other timeline that I take it you want to change, isn’t it?” He asked carefully. “Does it, uh, not… go well the second time for them?”

“The second..” Stiles looked confused. “This is only the second time, now.” He explained. “And no, this wasn’t on my list. This is new. Well, sort of new. It’s a long story, you’re better off not knowing yet. Just tell her I’m fine with it.” 

Scott shifted a little, squinting, but nodded slowly. “Okay.” He said carefully. “But you’re positive? You’re not just saying you are, and like, plotting to trash the house the minute I leave tonight or something?”

“If you don’t go tell her it’s fine right now, I’m going to kiss you.” Stiles snorted. “At school. In the cafeteria.” 

Scott sighed. “It’s starting to frustrate me a little that I can’t tell anymore when you’re teasing me or not.” He complained, smiling.

“I could kiss you right now?” Stiles stared at Scott, waiting for a response. 

Scott paused. “As, like… Are you serious, or joking? Is that a thing we started doing? Can we do that?”

“Okay, wait.” Stiles blinked. “Do you want me to kiss you?” 

Scott thought about it for a long moment. “Um…” After a moment, he shook his head. “No. I think that would make things super weird between us. Wouldn’t it?”

“Oh my god!” Stiles sighed. “Would you just go tell Lydia that you want to go out with her, already?” 

Scott couldn’t help grinning at Stiles cheekily. “I’m going.” He told Stiles, laughing a little before he walked back toward Lydia. He sat down beside her, smiling softly before he nodded. “I’d love to go out with you.” He said.

Lydia grinned. “Good. Do you want to go for a walk now? Maybe you could walk me home?” 

Scott nodded. “I can do that. Definitely.” He murmured.


	10. Assuming the Chaos

Stiles finished cleaning up after Erica and Boyd left. He turned toward Allison and smiled nervously. “Do you want to sleep on the couch or in my bed? I’m trying to figure out what I need to bring downstairs, either way.” 

Allison huffed out an awkward laugh. “I don’t - I don’t want to kick you out of your bed again. I can take the couch.” She told him.

“Are you sure? I mean, it’s kind of lumpy. Not something I’d subject a guest to dealing with.” Stiles murmured. He paused, tilting his head as he thought for a minute. “Yeah. No. Sorry, I was just trying to remember if you had ever been over here. You haven’t. I thought maybe I’d been explaining the couch for no reason.” 

Allison laughed softly. “No. Really, Stiles, I don’t want to put you out. I can… deal with a lumpy couch.”

“Okay. I have, uh, some sweatpants and a lot of t-shirts, if you wanna borrow something? I’ll bring everything down. Pillow and blanket, too.” Stiles bit his lip, trying not to picture Allison in one of his t-shirts. 

Allison shifted, smiling shyly. “I’d appreciate it, thank you.” She told him. She cleared her throat, turning to look at the couch. “It doesn’t look that bad,” she reasoned, desperately trying to keep herself from thinking of another option, where she and Stiles shared the same bed. She could already feel her cheeks burning red.

“Okay, but I’ll remind you that you said that, tomorrow.” Stiles laughed and went upstairs, throwing a pair of pants from his dresser onto his bed. He rummaged through his t-shirts, trying to find something that wouldn’t offend Allison. He settled on his shirt with The Beatles on it, adding that to the pile of stuff on his bed. He opened his bedroom door and walked back over to the bed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to open the door once he had everything in his arms, otherwise. 

Allison sat down on the couch, looking around the room once more in an effort to stop her mind from racing.

The nogitsune laughed as he opened the mail slot and guided the head of the snake he was clutching through the opening. He had been waiting for a moment when the two of them were alone, or at least as alone as they were going to get. His cover being what it was, he hadn’t had an opportunity earlier in the day. When the snake was all the way through the narrow hole in the door, he stood up straight, listening intently for Allison to react. 

Sighing, Allison leaned back on the couch as she waited for Stiles, and grimaced, looking uncomfortable. Okay, maybe Stiles had been right about the couch, and she shifted again, moving to her side. She frowned a moment later when she heard a soft hissing noise coming from the carpet. Lifting her head, she came face to face with the reptilian gaze of a snake, and she immediately fell backwards, letting out a high-pitched shriek. “Stiles! Oh, my god,” she blurted, scrambling to her feet on the couch and shrinking back as far as she could.

Stiles was already halfway down the stairs. He moved faster, dropping his armload of clothing and bedding onto the couch as he reacted without thinking, gripping the snake and rushing to the front door. He leaped down the steps and flung the reptile out into the road, his eyes wide. “Okay!” He started frantically checking his hands and arms for any bite marks he might not have felt in his haste to get the snake back outside. He walked back in once he was sure he hadn’t been bitten. 

Allison slumped down on the back of the couch, looking wide-eyed and panicked. “How - how did a snake even get inside the house?” She asked, shaking.

“I don’t know. I mean, I had one as a pet. But I was twelve.” Stiles sat down beside Allison. “Maybe it slithered in here when other people were coming in? But that’s not exactly, you know. Common. It does happen, it just typically happens in places like Florida or Arizona. Not here, so much.” 

Allison’s breathing was slowing as she began to slowly calm down. “It was just _looking_ at me.” She muttered. “It just - what if I’d been asleep, and it had, like, crawled onto the couch and strangled me, or bit me or something?” And just like that, the panic was ramping up again, her eyes going wide. “I’m sleeping in your room. Please. Please? I don’t want to be down here if that happens again. I hate snakes. They’re fine from far away, but not up close, not like that.”

Stiles nodded. “Okay.” He murmured, putting an arm around her shoulders. “It’s probably a good thing I don’t have that boa constrictor anymore.” He smiled. “You can change in the bathroom. I’ll rearrange stuff on my bed.” 

Allison nodded frantically, sinking against his side a little. “Thank you. Thank you. Not about the boa constrictor thing, I could have done without that.” She reached a hand out to clutch his tightly, still trembling a little. “Oh my god.”

“I’m going to get you a glass of water while you change.” Stiles murmured. “I was freaked out, too. I’m kind of freaked out that I wasn’t as scared as I probably should have been. I blame Jackson. He’s the lizard king, anyway.” He thought over the evening and started laughing. “I threatened to kiss Scott if he didn’t tell Lydia that it was fine for the two of them to start dating. He seemed almost like he wanted me to. I don’t know what goes through his head sometimes.” 

Allison felt herself start to relax again as Stiles talked, and she found herself smiling a little. “I always wondered about the two of you.” She murmured teasingly. “I think all those times you offered to make out with him might have gone to his head.”

“You think that’s bad? I told him once that he’s the hot girl of like, werewolves. It made sense for what we were talking about, but he was being a dumbass about it for days afterward.” Stiles laughed. “I was actually a little worried that he was going to take me seriously when I mentioned something like that today, though. I mean, he’s my bro. I don’t want to kiss him. I’ve known for awhile that I like guys, but he’s not on my list. In fact, he’s on the list of guys that are just... nope.” He glanced over at Allison. 

Allison looked curiously at him, successfully distracted by Stiles’ admission. “Who is on your list?” She asked.

“For guys?” Stiles asked cautiously. “Uh, I don’t know, really. A year ago, or... damn, however long ago. A month from now? Whatever. I’d have probably said Danny. And Derek. That’s about it. And even those two are kind of... there would have to be circumstances. I don’t think I can handle being involved with someone if there’s nothing there. I did something kind of stupid.” He took a deep breath. “I had sex while I was locked up in Eichen House. I really shouldn’t have. I know it happened, and now you know it happened. But I feel like now? Now it didn’t happen. I’m functionally a virgin again. How many people get to even say that and have it not just be some mind over matter thing?” He shook his head. “I’m getting sidetracked, as usual. The point is, I’m not interested in being with somebody else unless there’s more there. I know what I said earlier, about being willing to settle for being a passing amusement. If I get a vote, though? I _don’t_ want that.” 

Allison’s eyes softened, and she smiled gently at him. “Good. Because you don’t deserve that.” She lowered her feet to the floor, peering down anxiously, and then slowly stood up. “I’m going to go change.” She told him. “And then… we can talk a little more after?”

“Yeah, just come to my room when you’re done.” Stiles grabbed the pillow and blanket, carrying them back upstairs. He pushed his pillow to one side of the bed, shaking his head a little as he thought about how one day had already completely changed everything. He couldn’t believe that he had once been so angry at Scott for kissing Lydia. If his best friend knew that Lydia wasn’t the first person to compare Scott to a dog, their friendship might suffer for it. It was best not to tell him. It would serve no purpose. He laid down near the wall and covered up with his blanket. He hoped that his friendship with Allison would survive the night. Stiles moved around in his sleep a lot and he wasn’t sure what position he might wake up in. 

Allison changed quickly, smiling a little at the t-shirt before she tugged it on and pulled her hair out from under the neck. It was so long on her, it might as well have been a nightgown. She washed her face, and then brushed her hair back before she made her way into Stiles’ room, nervously twiddling her fingers as she stepped toward the bed. Sitting down on the edge, she slowly swung her legs up onto the mattress and curled up against the pillow. “Thank you again.” She murmured.

“Well, you’re welcome.” Stiles laughed, yawning. “But I wasn’t going to just let the snake hang out in here and like, steal my...” He struggled to keep his eyes open. “Corn flakes.” 

Allison giggled softly. “Steal your corn flakes?” She repeated. “Good night, Stiles.” She said, her voice affectionate.

“Night, Allison.” Stiles murmured, smiling.


	11. Chaos Reigns

A couple of days later, Stiles was still marveling at how everything was already so different. He sat at a table with Erica, Boyd, Scott and Lydia - and he didn’t feel bothered by being the only single person there. He was more focused on what he could do over the weekend.

Erica smiled faintly at Stiles from the other side of the table, looking amused by his expression. “I didn’t realize eating pizza took so much concentration.” She teased him.

“Ha ha.” Stiles smiled. “I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing this weekend, since all the rest of you have plans.”

Scott took a bite of his mac and cheese, squinting at Stiles. “Well… what does your dad have going on, at the police department?”

“Nothing that I know of. Laura and Derek are coming out here next week.” Stiles explained. “So until then, there’s not actually anything I can do. Maybe work on assignments I know we have coming up or something.”

Lydia stopped eating and leaned against Scott as she spoke to Stiles. “I’m still having a difficult time believing all of this.” They had tried to explain it to her the day before, but she told them all of the reasons why it just didn’t make sense.

“You’re not the only one.” Scott told her. “I had a hard time understanding it, too. And I think Stiles’ dad was internally freaking out about it. I’m still waiting for my first werewolf to appear.”

“Four days.” Stiles smiled. “But anyway, you’ll get used to it. And it’s going to be easier this time around. Not that you would know the difference. It doesn’t matter.” He had decided to wait to talk to Lydia about being a banshee until Allison was back in town, figuring it might be easier if it came from two people instead of just one, considering he had upset her with the pizza order.

Scott smiled. “Well… maybe you can check in on Peter and his nurse?” He suggested. “If Laura and Derek will be here next week, I mean.”

Stiles shuddered. “I’d rather go find that snake from the other day and let it bite me a couple dozen times.”

Erica grimaced. “I still don’t understand _how_ that snake appeared. I don’t remember your door being open for, like, a stupid length of time. Allison pretty much tugged everyone in like she thought the Men in Black were waiting outside the house and watching you guys.”

“She’s got her reasons.” Stiles murmured. It was still bothering him, and he felt like he could figure it out if he tried hard enough. There was no rational reason for the snake to have been in his house, but he had ruled out Medusa getting a haircut nearby. “She should be back this weekend, too. Moving more stuff.”

“How much more stuff does she have?” Scott blurted, looking surprised. “Like, when is she supposed to be fully moved in?”

“Soon.” Stiles shrugged. “Her dad is a gun dealer or something like that, and they have a limit to how much stuff they can transport at a time.” He wasn’t even sure he was telling the truth, but it sounded accurate enough to him. He hadn’t asked why the move was taking so long, and he figured Allison would have told him if she wanted him to know.

Erica nodded slowly. “That must suck.” She murmured. “Unless she’s, like, learned to live like a nomad and only has one bag around to carry everything she has. Which I doubt.”

“Give her time.” Stiles smiled. “She didn’t know back... now? She didn’t know what her family really did. So she’s got a lot of stuff. That’ll change. In fact, probably what’s taking so long is that she’s getting rid of stuff. That’s not easy.”

Scott looked thoughtful, draping an arm around Lydia’s shoulders and lightly stroking his thumb over her arm. “Maybe part of it is that she finally got her parents to talk to her, too.”

“Well, when she’s officially moved in, I’m going to make her go shopping with me.” Lydia smiled, then turned toward Erica. “You should come, too.”

Erica looked startled, her eyes going wide as she stared back at Lydia. “... Seriously?” She whispered, her mouth falling open.

Lydia nodded. “Yes. I haven’t really had other girls to spend time with, before. Jackson monopolized far too much of my time, and now that I don’t have to placate that overgrown infant, I’d like to make some real friends.” Even though she meant what she said, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing toward Jackson’s table.

Scott followed her gaze and sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t understand why he’s such a jerk.” He mumbled. “Stiles, didn’t you and Jackson used to be friends?”

“Yeah.” Stiles admitted. “Uh...” He gave Lydia and Scott an apologetic look. “Middle school. You were gone and I didn’t have anyone else to talk to there, and he wasn’t such a douchebag back then. I quit talking to him because he started dating you.” He gestured toward Lydia. “And Scott was back, anyway.”

Scott shook his head. “Not your fault. Don’t apologize about it.”

“If I could get him to at least pretend he remembers what that was like, it would be the last thing I can actually do. For now, I mean.” Stiles mused. “But I don’t think he’ll actually be nice to anyone but Allison.”

“Only because he wants to screw her.” Scott mentioned, looking unimpressed.

Stiles stared at Scott, trying to think of a response that didn’t make him sound like a jackass. “Yeah, probably.” He murmured, picking at his food. He wasn’t oblivious, he knew Allison was beautiful. He doubted anyone would argue that with him. But he felt like he was fixated on the mindsets of ‘she’s Scott’s ex,’ and ‘I’m not her type.’ He didn’t want to dwell on the fact that his thoughts of Allison generally sent his brain bouncing between the two points, like he was stuck in some kind of pinball machine hell.

Erica glanced at Stiles, and then scowled at Scott, reaching out to smack his arm. “Shut up.” She hissed quietly.

Scott let out a yelp, jerking his arm back. “Ow!”

Lydia rubbed Scott’s arm, a bemused smile on her face. “Scott, there’s something we need to talk about after lunch.” She said gently, glancing at Erica. “Boys.” She sighed.

“Okay.” Scott mumbled, slumping into his chair and sulking a little.

Erica rolled her eyes and shook her head, her lips tugging upward into a smile. She reached out to pat Boyd’s hand, leaning into her boyfriend’s side.

Boyd laughed, turning his head to kiss Erica lightly as the bell rang.

Stiles stood up and pulled his backpack straps over his shoulders, then picked up his lunch tray and carried it toward the return cart.

Lydia turned toward Scott, lacing her fingers with his. “Allison likes Stiles.” She said softly. “And he obviously likes her, too. I don’t know what’s holding them back, other than some relationship that happened in their timeline, but not ours.”

“I knew it.” Scott muttered. “I _told_ Stiles that Allison looked at him a certain way, but he kept saying that she liked me.” He rolled his eyes. “Even though, obviously, she doesn’t.”

“I think he’s probably just scared.” Lydia mused. “Not that I know him well enough to say that. I just don’t see any other logical reason for him to hesitate.”

“He hasn’t told me the entirety of everything that happened in that other timeline, but I think whatever happened might have involved me.” Scott told her quietly. “He has himself kind of convinced that ‘Scott and Allison’ is a thing, even though I’m with you, now.” He went quiet. “Maybe I wasn’t a good friend to him while she and I were together or something. But I don’t know why that would make him think that he couldn’t be with her.” He paused. “Unless… Unless he had a crush on her, but she didn’t like him back because she chose me? Oh, man.”

“I think the only way for you to know is to ask.” Lydia smiled, leaning toward Scott to kiss him. “And you _should_ ask.”

Scott floundered, still stunned that she was choosing to kiss him, even though she had done so willingly when he had walked her home after they’d agreed to date two nights before. “Uh.” He said dumbly, pulling back to stare at her and nodding. “I can do that.”

**

Stiles slumped in his seat in the back of Harris’ classroom, finishing the worksheet in front of him as he stayed silent. He glanced up at the teacher as he set his pencil down, frowning when he realized that Harris had been staring at him.

“Mr. Stilinski, I’m not sure what medication you’re on, but I want to write your doctor a thank-you letter.” Harris called out, smiling tensely.

Stiles exhaled slowly and tried to remind himself to count to ten and suppress the urge to respond to what was obvious bait, but he couldn’t make it past six. “Why’s that? Did your doctor get sick of your demands for more Viagra?”

The classroom went dead silent, and as one, more than half of the students turned to gape at Stiles. The rest stared at Harris in order to watch his reaction to Stiles’ comment.

Scott kicked frantically at Stiles’ chair, shaking his head. “What are you doing? What are you _doing_?” He hissed.

“I’m not going through this shit again.” Stiles muttered to Scott. “I won’t fucking do it. I swear to god, there’s so much more important stuff in this town than jumping through his stupid hoops.”

“I believe my sexual prowess is absolutely none of your concern.” The teacher smiled triumphantly. “You have det-”

“And my need for Adderall is none of yours!” Stiles interrupted. “I’m not going to detention. Don’t even hand me that paper or I swear to god, I will cram it down your throat. Don’t test me.”

Harris looked startled. “Principal’s office. Now.”

“Fine. I’ll tell them everything while I’m there.” Stiles started shoving things into his backpack as he stood up. “I’ll have them call my dad while I’m at it, so you two can talk at length about your knowledge of accelerants. I bet that conversation would be fun, wouldn’t it?” He stood up straight. “Still want me to go to the office?”

Scott stared at Stiles, understanding dawning on his face. His mouth fell open, his head swinging to stare at Harris in disbelief. Everyone in town knew that the Hale fire had been the result of arson, and that as fast as it caught, an extremely powerful accelerant had to have been used. “Stiles.” He said again, still staring at Harris as his eyes narrowed. He stood and put a hand on his best friend’s elbow. “Come on. I’ll go with you.”

“So will I.” Lydia could hear whispering as she got out of her seat, but she kept her gaze focused on the teacher.

“Why don’t all of you just take your seats?” Adrian cleared his throat and moved to sit back down at his desk.

Stiles hesitated for a moment, then sat back down. He didn’t need to tell anyone anything, the damage had been done. A gnawing feeling of dread started in his stomach as he realized he was pleased that he had upset the teacher and created a chaotic moment in the classroom. “Shit.” He whispered, biting at his fingernail.

Scott looked over Stiles’ head at Lydia before looking back at Stiles. “No, I think Stiles isn’t feeling well.” He told Harris. “I think we need to take him to the nurse’s station, maybe even call my mother.” He remained standing, and moved around the desk to wrap his hand around Stiles’ arm, gently tugging on it to lift his best friend up. “Come on, Stiles. Let’s go.”

“Of course.” Harris murmured, distracted. “Go ahead.”

Lydia followed the boys out of the classroom and pulled the door shut behind her. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t want to tell you.” Stiles shook his head. “Not yet. Please don’t ask me again.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and leaned against someone’s locker as he started texting Allison, his vision blurring more than once. ‘I went too far. I think I fucked up.’

Their English teacher stepped out of the classroom and gave them a concerned look. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Mr. Curtis.” Stiles nodded, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. “Just a panic attack. But I’ll be fine.”

The teacher nodded and went back into his classroom.

Allison didn’t bother texting back. Instead, she called Stiles the moment she received the message. “What happened? Are you alright?” She asked him worriedly.

“Yeah. I mean, I think so.” Stiles murmured. “Harris was being a dick, as usual, and I just got tired of it. I can’t deal with even one more semester of him, you know? So I started insulting him and pretty much told everyone in the class that he’s partly responsible for the Hale house burning down. He is, but... I know my dad’s going to probably be pissed about me doing that. The thing is....” He took a deep breath. “The thing is, I liked seeing him look scared. And you know why that’s bad.”

“Oh, god.” Allison murmured. “Okay, well… Um, do you - I can be in town tonight. Do you - do you want me there?”

“Yeah.” Stiles repeated. “Stupid question.” He smiled, but it faded quickly. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he had done. “I’ll, uh, order... Chinese?” He guessed. “Or do you want something else?”

“No, no.” Allison replied hurriedly. “Chinese is great. You know my favorite.” She smiled. “I’ll be there as soon as I possibly can, Stiles. You’ll be alright. I know you will.”

“I’ll see you later, then.” Stiles hung up and put his phone back in his pocket. “Thanks for coming out here with me.” He told Scott and Lydia. “I’m sorry.”

Scott shook his head, putting a hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “Dude, no. Don’t apologize, I get it. Harris makes Hitler look like a saint, sometimes.” He peered at his friend. “The question is, are you alright? And also…” He looked around the hallway. “Did Harris really have something to do with the fire?”

“Very indirectly.” Stiles admitted. “I’ll be okay, I think. But Harris told Kate Argent how to set the perfect fire, or something like that. And then she did it and he knew, and he never came forward.”

“I can prove that he’s knowledgeable.” Lydia nodded. “He taught me how to make a self-igniting molotov cocktail. I was doing extra credit a month ago and he asked me if I wanted to see something cool. I’m not so naive that I didn’t know what that could have led to, so I decided to record the conversation.”

Scott looked revolted. “What a fucking creep. Jesus.”

“Maybe we should just go see your dad?” Lydia asked Stiles.

Stiles looked hesitant. “Probably? I just know that if things go sideways, we’re going to miss a lot of classes next semester. We might not want to start on that now.”

“But on the other hand… things could go so completely right that we might not miss any classes at all.” Scott pointed out.

Stiles laughed, putting a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Okay, smartass.” He smiled. “Let’s go see my dad, then.”

Scott bumped playfully against Stiles’ side, grinning. “Maybe if we’re lucky, this could get a solid plan in place to get Kate arrested the minute she steps foot in town. If she does, now.”

“She will.” Stiles murmured. “Allison won’t say anything to her beforehand.”

Scott nodded. “Let’s go, then.” He murmured, squeezing his friend’s shoulder.


	12. Silver and Gold

Stiles opened the office door just enough to be able to peer out and listen to anything being said in the large room beyond the door. There was a lot of activity as the deputies set up two of the cells in the back of the building. Based on Lydia’s recorded conversation and a few of the other students in class confirming that Harris looked shaken up by Stiles’ accusation, there had been enough for a warrant to bring him in. Garrison Myers was being questioned while Adrian Harris was waiting his turn, and Stiles had been instructed - more than once, in fact - to stay in the office.

“Allison says she’ll be in town in an hour.” Lydia spoke quietly. “You should probably order dinner now and get home, Stiles.”

Stiles closed the door and turned to face Lydia and Scott. “I don’t want to leave yet. If I leave and something happens to my dad...” He shook his head.

“No offense, but what exactly could you do to stop it?” Lydia stood up and put her coat on. “If it happens while you’re here and you’re trying to save him, it puts you at risk. Everything you’re trying to accomplish now will have been for nothing.”

“That’s not exactly making me feel better.” Stiles frowned at her.

“It’s not supposed to.” Lydia said pointedly. “You need to go home. Eat something. Talk to Allison about whatever’s bothering you.”

Scott nodded in agreement. “Your dad’s a badass, Stiles. He’ll be okay. Go meet Allison.” He encouraged.

“Okay.” Stiles murmured. “Need me to drive you home?”

“No, we’ll stay here.” Lydia smiled. “We’ll call you if there’s anything you need to know. Feel better now?”

Stiles smiled and nodded, putting his coat on and slipping out of the room. He went out to his Jeep and drove home, calling to order Chinese as soon as he got there. He went through the house, straightening up as much as he could. At the rate he was going, he was going to end up with an ulcer. He was in a constant state of fear and he had been since Scott made first line.

Allison was at the door not long after, knocking gently. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around the front yard, and letting her gaze drift to her feet as she nervously licked her lips. She was praying there wasn’t another snake incident tonight; she wanted to just be there for Stiles, to help him calm down.

Stiles opened the door and hugged Allison. “Hey. I ordered dinner about twenty minutes ago, so it should be here soon. I have good news. Harris and Myers got arrested for what they did. As long as it stays quiet, they can get the other people involved. Your aunt, included.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I was freaking out earlier.”

Allison lit up, and she reached around Stiles to hug him back, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Don’t be sorry. I understand why you did.” Without thinking, she lifted a hand and touched his cheek, smiling softly. “That’s so great, though. That’s amazing. I don’t know how Harris never managed to get arrested before, but this is good.” She looked up at him. “We should be fully moved into the house by the weekend… I think Kate should be visiting sometime soon after that.”

“Good.” Stiles murmured. “The second she shows up, you should text me.” He smiled and stepped back, his hands going to Allison’s forearms as he pulled her along with him, into the house. “If I slip, though? I mean, really. Like, deadly pranks and all of that shit. You get everyone out of here.” He nodded. “I mean it. I know there’s a way to separate him from me, but I don’t think he can be stopped.”

Allison nodded shakily, clutching at Stiles. “I really thought he was gone.” She said softly. “I thought… I mean, that he was back in - in the other timeline. He’s supposed to still be hidden inside the nemeton here, isn’t he?”

“Supposed to be, yeah. The thing is, I’m not... I’m from there, to here. So... what if we just thought we got rid of him? What if it was a trick? I shouldn’t have liked _scaring_ my teacher, even if he is an asshole.”

Allison shook her head, reaching up to rub Stiles’ back gently. “I think there’s a huge difference there, though.” She murmured. “Harris has always been a jerk, and he’s always lorded it over you before. You couldn’t do anything to get him to back off, because he always held the power before. Now, though - your dad knows everything, he knows what Harris is all about, he knows what he needs to look for. You aren’t keeping secrets from him this time around; you _know_ all the secrets this time around. You have the position of power this time, because for all Harris knows, you took a shot in the dark, saying what you did. It’s on him that he reacted that way, it implicates him. If it was me…” She shrugged, shaking her head a little. “I’d have enjoyed it, too.”

Stiles looked relieved. “Thank you.” He murmured. “Hey, do you need help moving your stuff this weekend? Because I know Lydia and Scott have plans, and so do Boyd and Erica. I can either do homework we haven’t even technically been assigned yet, or I can help you. Or I’ll just sleep all weekend, I guess.”

Allison beamed up at him. “That would be great, I would love that.” She paused. “Although… um, you should probably know that my parents have been, um, asking questions about you. You’d be meeting them.”

“What kind of questions?” Stiles smiled nervously, sitting down on the couch and looking up at her. “Are they going to hate me now? Not that they liked me much before, anyway.”

Allison shook her head. “I don’t care if they don’t like you.” She muttered. “Just… questions, though, you know? Um, standard stuff, like… what you’re interested in, colleges, that sort of thing.” She sat down next to him. “It’s not a big thing, really. They just - they were very surprised that I met people to be friends with here so quickly. And obviously, I can’t tell them the truth, so…” She shrugged a little.

“After your aunt gets arrested.” Stiles murmured. “If that’s okay? I mean, we can wait that long to say something. Unless that’s too long. We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.”

Allison nodded, smiling a little weakly. “So that’s a no to helping me move in this weekend?” She asked, teasingly.

“What? No, I’ll help.” Stiles laughed. “Fair warning, parents don’t like me. Like, ever. Not that I have a lot of experience there, but... Scott’s mom kinda hates me, and Jackson’s parents definitely hate me. Your dad slammed me into a wall. Last time, I mean. Surprisingly enough, your mom is the only parent, aside from my own, that hasn’t made me feel like I was something they stepped in.”

Allison grimaced, looking at Stiles apologetically. “I didn’t know that Dad did that to you. I’m sorry. If he does it again, this time, tell me.” Her eyes glinted. “I’ll tell my mom.”

Stiles grinned. “Okay.” He nodded. “I’m actually kind of looking forward to meeting them. I know that sounds weird, but... at least once it’s over, if they don’t like me, then it’s not like it was unexpected.” He shrugged. He pushed the thought aside that he wanted the Argents to like him. “Maybe lunch on Saturday or something?”

Allison smiled back at him, nodding. “That would be great.” She said, ducking her head.

“They probably won’t want to cook, right? Do they like diner food?” Stiles started laughing. “I just can’t see your mom liking curly fries.”

Allison giggled, shaking her head. “No, god. She hates diners. The only time she will actually go to one is when she’s having a lazy day, and Dad’s out of town. No, she’s - she’s going to want to cook.” She admitted. “... She could probably make curly fries for you, if you asked nicely. She has one of those twisty potato cutter things.”

“Is it still an Oedipus Complex if I kill your dad and marry your mom?” Stiles grinned. “I should bring something. I’d feel weird if I didn't.”

Allison scrunched up her nose and smacked his arm, before turning to grab a throw pillow and smacking him with _that_. “Bring whatever you want, just don’t say that again!” She shuddered. “Ugh, the thought of you with my mother.”

“I know. Our babies would be pure evil.” Stiles laughed and started tickling Allison.

Allison squawked and flailed away from him. “Oh, my god, you _are_ evil!” She shrieked, laughing and smacking at him.

“Sometimes, yeah.” Stiles mused. “Even before all of this stuff happened.” He sat up, then answered the door when someone knocked, delivering their food.

Allison straightened herself up while he was at the door, and then leaned back against the couch, smiling faintly after him. “Maybe you’ve had evil intentions, but I don’t think you’ve ever really been evil, Stiles.”

Stiles pushed the door shut with his foot after he finished paying for dinner. He turned toward Allison. “No, not on my own, at least.” He murmured. “I got you sesame chicken and egg rolls. They said they were out of wontons. That’s kind of a weird thing to be out of, right?” He snorted.

“I call bullshit.” Allison snorted, but reached for the food eagerly, smiling up at him. “Thank you.” She murmured.

“You’re welcome.” Stiles nodded and sat beside her, taking a bite of his own sesame chicken. He turned his head suddenly, breathing in through his mouth. “Hot.” He blurted, getting up and going into the kitchen. “What do you want to drink?”

Allison let out a little laugh. “I’m good with anything you’ve got.” She called after him. “As long as it’s cold.” She lifted a piece of chicken to her lips, blowing on it until it was cool enough for her to bite down on. She sighed happily. “This is so good.”

Stiles brought a couple of bottles of soda into the living room and set one down in front of Allison. He put his own down on the floor, by his feet, then sat down. “If I can have a more normal existence, maybe this time around I’ll get a job or something.” He smiled. “That would be different.”

Allison tucked her feet up underneath her as she ate slowly, blowing on the food every once in awhile when it seemed too hot. “I never really thought about getting a job. Everything just seemed so hectic as it was, and I figured… worst case scenario, I’d just end up taking over for my dad or something.”

“Well, that’s sort of my plan, too.” Stiles laughed. “If things work out. No matter what, though? I’m not really in the mood to be half-dead like that, again. Or all dead. I want to be not dead.”

Allison nodded frantically. “Same. I never - if the Yukimuras come to Beacon Hills, still, can we either make sure to talk to Noshiko so that she doesn’t go waving her tails around, breaking them every time something goes wrong? Or at least, make sure that I’m wearing… I don’t know, kitana-or-supernatural-proof armor or something?”

“Well, first off?” Stiles took a deep breath. “I’m not sacrificing myself this time. And by that, I mean that if Jennifer so much as shows up here, I’m just going to shoot her. I won’t do it at school, that’s a life sentence in prison. Theoretically. But she’s not murdering virgins or our parents. Nuh-uh. Not happening. So there won’t be a nogitsune problem.”

Allison exhaled softly, smiling at him. She reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Good. No sacrifice, no nogitsune, Jennifer won’t be a problem…” She hesitated. “What do we do about the Alpha pack?”

“I don’t know, yet.” Stiles admitted. “You know, we could just seal the entire town in wolfsbane.” He smiled. “Or mountain ash. Something.” He paused. “Actually, why the hell didn’t we just do that before? We’ll track the Alpha pack to that apartment complex and seal it off.”

Allison raised her eyebrows, letting out a little laugh. “Would that even work? Could we even get away with that?” She picked at her food, thinking. “Stiles, I… this makes me feel a little like… like I’m thinking the way Kate thinks. But… what if we could just… be done with them? Right off the bat? Seal off that complex…” She swallowed roughly. “Fire-bomb it. Gerard’s one mistake, with what he did to Deucalion… he didn’t finish him off. He let Deucalion live. If we could go further back and stop that travesty altogether, I would, but…” She shuddered, hating her words. “Anything we do to them, that doesn’t involve ending them entirely? It’s just going to make them angrier.”

“Who else lived in that building? You and your dad and the Alphas and that was it?” Stiles took another bite of his chicken and chewed slowly, thinking. “We’re definitely getting rid of Kali. I think the twins might be redeemable. I sound like Scott.”

Allison nodded. “A little bit, yeah.” She smiled faintly, reaching for one of her egg rolls. “I don’t know how redeemable the twins are, but Derek seemed to get them under control toward the end there.” She bit into the egg roll, letting out a small, delighted noise. “Mmm. Anyway. Yeah, it was just us and the Alphas. I’m not sure if they bought the whole building out before or after we moved in. I know they wanted to keep an eye on us.”

“So they probably won’t get an apartment there, now. We’ll have to keep an eye on your neighbors.” Stiles glanced at Allison’s mouth. “Um, you have...” He gestured to his own lips.

Allison blinked, staring back at Stiles briefly before she reached up to brush her fingers over her mouth. Her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment, and she kept wiping her mouth until she thought she’d gotten her mouth cleaned off. “Did I get it?”

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. He glanced away, then focused his attention on his food. If he gave in and kissed her, like he had thought about more than once, he was crossing a line. He had started to see how Lydia and Scott could work as a couple, but he still had Allison firmly in a box labeled ‘not mine,’ and he knew that she might not appreciate being reduced to an object that way, but he thought of her as being so much more than that. Just not his.

Allison sensed the awkwardness in the moment, and she ducked her head, reaching for her glass and taking a long drink, before continuing to eat quietly. The way Stiles had been looking at her had made her heart rate ratchet up for all of five seconds before he’d looked away. She wasn’t sure what the look had meant - she knew what she’d _hoped_ it had meant - but when Stiles had taken his gaze off of her, any hopes she might have had sank. She cleared her throat. “Um. So, we should… be on the lookout for Laura and Derek soon, yes?” She asked, attempting to cover up the lingering disappointment.

“Yeah, they’re flying out here on Tuesday.” Stiles nodded, glancing toward Allison again. “At least if I’m helping you unpack stuff, I won’t go crazy in here, waiting. And pacing.”

Allison smiled at him. “Yeah, I don’t think you really want to wear any troughs in the floor.” She agreed, biting her lower lip, and then blurted out, “Are we sleeping together tonight?” Her face immediately flushed, her eyes going wide, and she cursed her mouth for being faster than her brain. “I mean, in the same room. In the bed. Not the other way.”

Stiles’ face was just as red as Allison’s. “Um. I knew what you meant.” He nodded, even though it was obviously not true, his mind had gone to the same place hers had. “Yeah, we can do that. Um, I thought you had more stuff moved, though? Your bedroom stuff? Or is that... are you doing that tomorrow?”

“That’s - tomorrow.” Allison nodded, thinking back to the last time she’d stayed over. She shuddered. “I don’t… um, I didn’t want to stay in the house alone tonight.”

“I wouldn’t want you to, either.” Stiles hesitated again, wondering if he had said too much. He figured it was still safe enough, so he exhaled slowly and looked around for something else to talk about. “Hey, have you seen Star Wars?”

Allison exhaled as well, though from relief. “I’ve seen bits and pieces of it. Never the whole thing in one go. I always seem to miss a huge chunk whenever it’s on.”

“Would you maybe want to watch it with me? At least one movie at a time? I kind of prefer to marathon all of it, even that bullshit Episode One. But I don’t think we have time for that right now.”

Allison smiled. “I’d like that, Stiles.” She murmured, curling up on the couch.

Stiles set his container on the coffee table and turned toward her. “You’re serious?”

Letting out a laugh, Allison nodded. “Yeah, why not? I might as well watch it the whole way through and see what the hype is about, right?”

“Right.” Stiles stood up and walked toward the dvd rack, reaching out for the case for Episode IV. Just as his fingers brushed against the plastic, the power went out. He groaned. “Damn it.”

Allison let out a yelp and fumbled for her phone, flicking it on and illuminating the screen. “What the hell?” She blurted. “Stiles, come here, please!” The light from the phone bounced jaggedly over the room from how hard Allison was shaking, and she let out a whine. “This is the second time something freaky has happened when I’ve come to visit you.”

“I know.” Stiles nodded, walking around the coffee table and sitting back down on the couch. “I don’t know why. We could go find something else to do, maybe. There’s that coffee shop downtown, or we could go see a movie. Assuming that the entire town hasn’t lost power, I mean.”

Allison squirmed on the couch, getting onto her knees and peering out the window at the rest of the neighborhood. “Can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” She muttered. “Maybe the coffee shop?” She asked, blindly reaching for Stiles.

Stiles leaned against Allison as he got up onto his knees, beside her. “I might just go check the breakers, first. Just to be sure.” He bit down on the tip of his tongue. If he turned his head, he could probably kiss her. The thought made him take a deep breath and get up from the couch.

Allison nodded, her eyes still firmly focused on the street outside. She could still feel the line of warmth that Stiles had left against her side, and it was taking everything she had in her not to spin around and throw herself at him. She was almost grateful that he’d gotten up. Almost. “I’ll… You’ll come back if I scream, right? If something freaks me out?”

“Why don’t you just come with me?” Stiles suggested. “Besides, clumsy as I am and with it being this dark, I’ll probably trip and break my ankle, anyway.”

Allison turned, finally, and looked at Stiles as best as she could in the dark. She nodded, eventually. “Okay.” She murmured. “But I’m not much better, so no laughing if I fall on my ass.” She climbed off of the couch and pressed against his side, snaking a hand around his and squeezing.

“No laughing.” Stiles murmured softly. He closed his eyes and tried to remind himself that it was a bad thing that he wanted to kiss Allison. They weren’t here on some kind of romantic time-travel vacation, they were trying to save themselves and their friends. And the town. He would just have to wait until he had a spare moment and masturbate, like usual.

Allison exhaled, lifting the hand that held the phone. “Lead the way.” She told him, winding her arm around his.

Stiles walked toward the basement stairs and led the way down, moving slowly. He brought Allison’s hand up to his shoulder. “Good?”

Allison squeezed Stiles’ shoulder and nodded. “Good.” She confirmed. “If I didn’t think I’d send us both falling down the stairs, I’d ask you for a piggy back ride.”

“And if I didn’t think the same thing, I’d give you one.” Stiles laughed.

“Next time.” Allison grinned, pressing against him and tightening her grip.

A few minutes later, the power was back on and Stiles was determined to go to sleep. He knew that staying awake and thinking about Allison while she was right there next to him on the couch was asking for trouble. Sleeping beside her might not be much better, but at least his actions would be excusable, if he did anything while he slept.

Upstairs in Stiles’ bathroom, Allison exhaled, staring at herself in the mirror’s reflection. She tugged her shirt over her head and slipped out of her skirt, letting the material flutter to the ground around her feet. Her bra came off next before she grabbed Stiles’ spare shirt, lifting it over her head and allowing it to settle down around her shoulders.

Stiles opened the door without thinking, his head snapping up like he had been punched in the chin, his gaze determinedly not anywhere lower than Allison’s forehead. “Hi. Sorry. Shit. I just... I was going to brush my teeth. I should have knocked. I should have waited. Okay. Bye.” He went back into the hall, pulling the door shut behind him.

Allison poked her head out of the doorway after him, her cheeks flaming. “Stiles, wait.” She called after him. “It’s okay. You can come in, I’m done now.”

Stiles turned around, still mortified. He wasn’t even all that tired, but even if he had been? He doubted he would fall asleep anytime soon. “Sorry.” He said again.

Allison smiled at him gently, shaking her head. “It’s okay.” She repeated, resting her cheek on his shoulder briefly. “I’m going to go turn down the bed so we can just go right to sleep.” She murmured, and lifted her head, looking up at him longingly before she backed away.

Stiles stared at Allison, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a second. When he opened them, he took a step toward Allison and rested a hand on her shoulder. He figured if she wanted him to back off, she could easily knock him to the floor and that would be the end of him wondering.

Allison swallowed nervously, staring up at him. Without hesitation, she brought her hand up to rest on his chest, lifting her head and closing her eyes.

Stiles tilted his head as he leaned in and kissed Allison, bringing his other hand to her waist.

Allison whimpered softly against his mouth, lifting herself onto her toes and wrapping an arm around his neck. “I’ve been waiting for this.” She murmured softly against his mouth, and kissed him again, eagerly.

Stiles opened his eyes, pulling back a little to look at her. “You have?” He blurted. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Instead of waiting for her answer, he kissed her a third time. “Nevermind. Do you, um, want to keep doing this? Or... I mean, in my room?”

Allison nodded slowly, winding her arms around him and pulling him down for yet another kiss, her fingers lightly stroking through the short hairs on the back of his head.


	13. Future Plans

Stiles wondered if Lydia would smack him when she found out what he was doing. He hadn’t even taken the candles out of their gift bag, and now he was giving them to Chris and Victoria, along with some brownies he had made that morning. He felt nervous, and he couldn't stop smiling at Allison.

Allison, for her part, couldn't stop smiling either, a silly expression on her face each time her eyes moved to observe Stiles. Chewing on her lower lip and fighting the urge to just wrap herself around him, damn everyone else, she inhaled deeply and gestured at him with her fingers fluttering. “Mom, Daddy, this is Stiles.”

Chris watched his daughter carefully, narrowing his eyes a little as he took in the boy at her side. “Hello, Stiles.” He greeted carefully. “I'm Chris, and my wife is Victoria. You're the, uh… sheriff’s kid that Allison has been telling us about.” The kid that he'd thought was a girl. His expression told Allison that they would be in for quite a discussion later.

Allison laughed nervously, looking away from her father quickly.

Victoria nudged her husband as she reached out to take things from Stiles. “It’s nice to meet you. You met Allison at school?”

“The bookstore downtown, actually.” Stiles smiled. “I thought she was someone else and figured I would say hello. But I was glad to see her again, at school.” He faltered, trying desperately not to talk too much and annoy anyone or embarrass Allison. “Um. I made brownies.” He gestured to the closed container.

“What sort of brownies?” Victoria asked casually, one eyebrow raised as she stared at Stiles.

“Mint chocolate.” Stiles looked startled when Allison’s mom laughed. “Wait. Were you messing with me?”

“You seem like you’re easily rattled.” Victoria smiled. “Don’t let Chris bother you. He’s harmless. I’m the one you should look out for.” She opened the container and picked up a brownie, biting into it. “Allison might be grounded for a few days for omitting certain details about you. I guess we’ll see if you were worth the lie.” She lifted a second brownie from the bowl and stuck it partway into Chris’ open mouth before he could object.

Chris grunted, giving his wife a frustrated look as he automatically sank his teeth into the brownie. He chewed, then paused, peering down at the part he hadn't eaten yet. A soft noise, neither surprise, nor annoyance, escaped his throat, but he continued eating, nodding slowly. “Make about five dozen more of these, and you can have whatever you want.”

Allison let out a soft snort, peering at her father’s face before she shook her head at her mother. “New developments. Incredibly new developments. Recent. As in barely sixty hours.” She looked at Stiles fondly.

Stiles smiled back at Allison. They had spent most of the night kissing. Rushing into things with Malia had been a horrible idea. He wanted to take his time with Allison. He liked how everything felt new, even though he had known her about a year.

Chris raised his eyebrows as he watched them, and then glanced at his wife in amusement, a grin twitching at his lips. He'd seen Allison with a crush on boys before - she got manic, frantic, convinced that everything she was doing and everything she was saying was wrong, and that she needed to do better and be better, like the girl she thought those other boys would want. This boy settled her. And he could safely say that he'd never seen Allison so… _smitten_... before.

“Lunch is in the dining room.” Victoria smiled back at Chris. She could tell by the look on his face that he was relieved. So was she. Allison hadn’t developed a rebellious streak yet, like they both feared she would.

Allison suddenly seemed to realize that she had been doing nothing but gazing at Stiles with doe eyes for several minutes, in front of her parents. She cleared her throat and coughed awkwardly, grinning a little. “Um. Sorry. Anyway, lunch. Let's… go eat lunch.” She nodded, wrapping her fingers around Stiles’ and tugging him along.

Victoria waited for the teens to leave the room before she spoke. “Sheriff’s son, devoted to our daughter and he can bake? I think we should consider staying here at least until Allison graduates. Unless he breaks her heart. Then we’ll have to kill him.”

Chris snorted. “Only if the kid turns out to be possessed, Vic. If he breaks her heart, we’ll string him up by the toenails and organize a series of very unfortunate things to happen to him. But we’re in agreement. Beacon Hills is teeming enough with god knows what, that we should be easily occupied for years to come.” He exhaled and wrapped his arm around Victoria. “But… I think I've got a good feeling about this kid. I've never seen Allison so…” He trailed off, furrowing his brow to think of the word.

“Enamored.” Victoria smiled. “Think he knows how to use a gun?”

Chris tilted his head. “Possibly. His dad _is_ the Sheriff, maybe he was taught a few things.”

Victoria started to reach for another brownie, but she closed the container, instead. “I wonder what it would take to talk this Sheriff into agreeing to an arranged marriage for his son. It’s not as though Stiles would object.”

“It depends.” Chris murmured, turning to lean against the counter to look at Victoria. “Stiles may be alright with it, but this Sheriff may not be. Not everyone would be as okay with it as we eventually were. He might think it’s archaic.” Shrugging a shoulder, he said, “It couldn’t hurt to ask, at the very least. We’ll have to meet him eventually, anyway.”

Victoria nodded. “If he’s uncertain, we’ll offer to pay Stiles’ college tuition.” She said decisively. “We may as well.”

“Good idea. He’ll jump at the chance of getting his kid’s schooling for free.” Chris nodded. “What’s the salary for a county sheriff, anyway? It can’t be that much.”

Victoria smiled in agreement, then walked into the dining room. She sat down, waiting for Chris before she spoke. “So, Stiles. Why don’t you tell us what sort of classes you’re taking?”

Stiles nodded. “Not really anything specific.” He admitted. “I take the required ones. Gym, math, English, science, eco- world history, sorry. Economics is next semester.” He glanced at Allison, tilting his head a little and silently begging her to say something.

Allison reached for his hand, setting her palm down on his above the table. “He’s brilliant. He’s second in our whole year, even though our - his science teacher, I mean, gives him a really rough time. I was thinking of taking up art again, as one of my electives.” She tacked on to the end of the sentence hurriedly.

Stiles smiled gratefully and laced his fingers with Allison’s. “That’s just cruel to pasta companies.” He teased.

Victoria blinked, then laughed. “You just met last week and you’re already familiar with her macaroni art,” she looked at Allison, “and his grades?” She glanced over at Chris again, then looked back at Stiles. “If you don’t mind me asking, why second and not first in your class?”

“Lydia Martin.” Stiles answered simply. “My best friend’s girlfriend. She speaks at least three languages and has an IQ of one-seventy. She likes to bring it up in conversation.”

Allison covered her face, laughing still from the mention of her art before she answered. “A lot of times, without anyone even segueing into it. She’s a legitimate genius, though. Stiles is just as smart, but Lydia just… kind of continually beats him by that one point.”

Chris looked impressed, glancing at Victoria. “Second in the entire class is nothing to scoff at,” he commented, nodding. He blinked, grinning. “And I happened to love Ally-Cat’s macaroni art.”

“You certainly seem to be familiar with a lot of people, for only having been here four days out of the last fourteen. And not even the entire day, for any of the four.” Victoria remarked.

Allison paused, and then looked at her mother. “Well… It sort of feels like I’ve known them forever, already.” She said softly. She instinctively squeezed Stiles’ hand again. “A lifetime, even.”

Stiles smiled. “That’s how I feel, too.” His tone was just as quiet as hers, but he looked up to gauge the reactions of Allison’s parents. He knew what they did when they were pissed off, he didn’t want to be on their bad side.

Chris was silent, gazing at the two teenagers thoughtfully before he lifted his own hand and mimicked his daughter, setting his palm gently above Victoria’s. “I think I can understand that.”

Victoria smiled and nodded in response as she glanced at Chris. “Our marriage was arranged.” She told Stiles. “We had some difficulty with that at first, but it worked itself out. I’ve never felt a need to adhere to all of the modern conventions of society. I think older eras had it right.”

“Victorians?” Stiles asked before he could stop himself. His eyes widened and he tightened his grip on Allison’s hand, fully expecting to be shot.

Allison choked, letting out a shrill giggle and clapping her hand over her mouth.

Chris snorted again. “Yes, actually. Bit of a tradition in our family starting in the early eighteen-hundreds.”

Victoria laughed, not minding at all that Stiles’ words could have been considered offensive. “If we worried over everything someone said to us, we wouldn’t have time for anything else.”

Allison smiled softly at her mother. “It’s true.” She laughed quietly. “Mom and Dad are super busy. The amount of people that have complained about what Dad’s job is, Dad would be in a sanitarium if he actually sat there and thought about all of it. You know?”

Stiles nodded, startled when his cell phone rang. He gave the parental Argents an apologetic smile and excused himself, going into the other room to take the call. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, kiddo.” John answered, clearing his throat. “I know you’re sort of busy right now, I’m sorry. Uh. Laura Hale just called me to tell me she was driving into town with her brother, and that she’s about five minutes away from the county line.”

“Sh- crap.” Stiles muttered. “Okay. I’ll see if I can get Allison to come with me, but it might just be me. Need me to come to the station, or are we doing this at home?”

“I figured that maybe we can catch them before they head toward the ruins of the house, bring them back to ours, maybe feed them something and soften them up before we tell them anything?” John replied.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ve got some brownies in the fridge.” Stiles admitted. “Don’t you dare eat all of them. I’ll be there soon.” He hung up and went into the dining room. “I’m sorry about this. I was actually sort of looking forward to helping you move stuff in, but my dad needs me to come home.” He gave Allison a sorrowful smile. “Maybe I can come help out tomorrow with painting or... or anything like that?”

Allison looked disappointed, but understanding. She stood up and smiled back at him, reaching out to hug him. “It’s okay. Tomorrow would be great -” She paused at the knock on the door, frowning before looking at her parents. “... We haven’t told anyone we’ve moved yet, have we?” She asked.

“Just your grandfather.” Victoria murmured.

“I’ll get it.” Stiles offered. “I’m on my way out, anyway.” He tried not to let his anger show as he opened the door, expecting to come face to face with Gerard. He hadn’t forgotten the way the older man used him like a punching bag and hurt Boyd and Erica. But instead of Gerard being on the front porch, it was Kate.

“Who are you?” Kate gave Stiles an obvious once-over and smiled, cat-like. “You’re about my niece’s age, so... friend? Boyfriend?” She gasped, loud and fake. “Did I interrupt you meeting the parents? Is it that serious? Chris! Get out here!”

Stiles wanted nothing more than to leave, but Kate was blocking the doorway and he doubted that it would earn him any actual _brownie points_ if he shoved her aside and ran to his Jeep.

Chris came into the foyer, frowning. “Kate - what are you doing here?” He asked bluntly.

Allison followed him, peering out at Kate with a stricken expression on her face from behind her father’s shoulder. This shouldn’t be happening. It was too early. Kate wasn’t due to be in Beacon Hills for weeks yet. “Aunt Kate…” She forced out. “Hi.” She reached for Stiles’ hand, stepping past her father and pressing close to her boyfriend.

“Hey, kiddo!” Kate grinned. “Going to introduce us?”

“Actually, I was just leaving. Family thing.” Stiles explained. He turned toward Allison. “You can come with, if you want. If your parents don’t mind?” He glanced at Chris and Victoria, who was approaching them.

“You might as well.” Victoria nodded, her gaze sharp as she looked at Chris’ sister. “We’re going to talk about a lot of boring things while you’re gone. Go be a teenager.” She murmured. “But Allison? Stay out of trouble.”

Allison beamed at her mother in relief, darting to her side and hugging her tightly. “Of course I will.” She said. “Thank you. Love you.” She repeated the action with her father, and then grabbed Stiles’ hand and bolted out the door before Kate could try the same. “Come on, come on.” She whispered, looking at Stiles worriedly. “Oh, god, why is she here?”

“I don’t know, unless she’s been following Derek and Laura. Or monitoring them, at least. If she knew they were coming here, she could have come here to find them.” Stiles got into the Jeep and started it. “She came here before to grill Derek and find out who the alpha was. But that stuff hasn’t even happened yet, so I don’t know. Maybe there’s something else that we’re missing.”

Allison climbed into the passenger side of the Jeep, looking at Stiles. “Maybe she got wind of… Peter this time?” She suggested. “Maybe that’s what she originally came for in the first timeline, but she… she was running late, or something?” She grimaced. “I hate that she’s here. Nothing good can come of her being here.”

“I know.” Stiles reached for Allison’s hand, kissing her knuckles. “But the good news is that she’s here, and we know right where she is. If even one of those guys named her as an accomplice, my dad can go arrest her. And meanwhile, we can talk to the Hales.”

Allison watched his movements, a small smile touching her lips before she leaned forward and kissed him softly. Her hand moved up to cup his cheek. “You’re right.” She murmured. “I know you are.” She nodded. “Let’s go get them.”

Stiles smiled and drove toward his house. “I’m kind of intrigued by Laura. We never got to talk to her, before. I vaguely remember seeing her at the station when I was a kid, but I was a little more concerned about Derek. He just seemed... he needs people. Whether he ever wants to admit that to himself or not.”

“He does.” Allison nodded. “I… now that I think about it, I feel bad for him. But I’ve got to admit, I’m a little excited about it.” She told him. “Meeting Laura, I mean.”

Stiles nodded. “Me too.” He parked in the driveway and leaned toward Allison to kiss her. “I don’t want you going back to that house until Kate’s been arrested. I know you can take care of yourself. I’m not trying to sound like an asshole.”

“I don’t think you sound like an asshole.” Allison wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed his cheek, then bit her lower lip. “How long do you think it’ll take?” She asked softly. “I don’t want her to be here any longer than absolutely necessary. I don’t know if my parents know anything about what Kate did, but if they don’t, I don’t want her anywhere near them. For all I know, she’ll try to implicate them in the entire thing, Stiles.”

“Knowing my dad, he’s already got a warrant.” Stiles smiled and got out, waiting for Allison before he went into the house. “Dad, we’re here!”

Allison followed Stiles, smiling and waving her fingers at the Sheriff. “Hey, Mister S.” She greeted.

John smiled back at them both. “Hi, Allison. Glad you’re both here.” He stood, patting Stiles’ shoulder and squeezing gently. “Alright. I gave Laura a call back and gave her the directions here. They should be here any minute.” He squinted at his son and Allison. “Are you both alright?”

“You got confirmation from at least one of those arsonists about Kate Argent, right?” Stiles asked, a determined look on his face. “Because we know where she is. You could go get her right now. We’ll stay here and wait for Laura and Derek.”

John straightened, staring at Stiles. “I have confirmation. Myers and Harris both described her right down to a T. Myers described the other ones involved, too. Is she here, Stiles? In town?”

Stiles nodded. “Allison’s house. She just showed up. Obviously, she doesn’t know what she’s in for. Go get her.” He smiled. “Be safe, yeah?”

John smiled at his son. “You know I will.” He reached for Stiles and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Turning to Allison, he pointed at her with a smile and said, “You keep an eye on him, alright?”

Allison smiled back at him. “Yes, sir. I will.”

Stiles was practically bouncing in place as he watched his dad leave and drive off. “We’re doing it!” He blurted, laughing. “We’re actually getting rid of the threats in this town before they get worse.”

Allison cupped her face with both hands, laughing. “Oh my god.” She breathed. “This is - I can’t believe we’re really doing this.” She turned toward Stiles and threw her arms around his neck happily.

Stiles grinned and kissed Allison. “This is awesome.”

Allison beamed at him, kissing him back. She pulled back for a moment, staring at him for a moment before she leaned in to kiss him again.

Stiles murmured against Allison’s lips as he kissed back, putting his arms around her waist. He knew they wouldn’t have enough time to go any further before Derek and Laura showed up, and despite his relief that things were going well, he wanted to pause everything and just spend time with his girlfriend.

Allison clutched at him tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck and threading her fingers through his hair. With everything that had happened to them, and with everything she knew was likely going to happen in the future, this was the most normal she had ever felt - just a girl with her boyfriend. At some point in the next few days, she knew she was going to deliberately make time in the midst of the chaos to spend one-on-one time with Stiles.

Stiles knew it was a lost cause, but he started kissing Allison’s neck. “After we convince Laura to bite Scott, Erica, Boyd and Isaac? I’m taking you upstairs and telling my dad to just go get himself a cheeseburger and leave us alone.”

Allison shivered, her eyes fluttering shut. She rolled her head forward and let it drop against Stiles’ shoulder, grinning faintly. “Are you really going to tell him that?” She asked, giggling softly. “You don’t have to. He’ll probably be super busy at the police station, once he gets Kate there.” She tilted her head, nipping at his ear and tugging the lobe gently with her teeth. “We could be on our own for a while, after we talk to the Hales.”

Stiles smiled. “Hey. Was Scott your first, before?” He asked suddenly.

Allison nodded slowly. “He was.” She said, peering up at him. “Is that… is that a problem?”

“No.” Stiles shook his head and smiled, running his hands up and down Allison’s upper arms. “I’m glad. I know we both have experience with this, but like I was saying the other day? We’re virgins now. It’ll be like... okay, maybe I have a thing, I don’t know.”

Allison smiled slowly. “I forgot about that. That we’re virgins again. It’s like… It’s like a do-over. We get to start again.” She leaned in to kiss him again, moving her hands up to settle on top of his. “I’m glad it’s with you.” She said softly.

“Yeah?” Stiles leaned in to kiss Allison again, but there was a knock on the door just before his lips touched hers. He groaned. “That’s probably Derek. I’m putting mountain ash in all of his underwear, I swear to god.” Halfway to the door, he paused. “He probably heard that.”

Allison giggled, wrapping her arm around his. “Yes, he probably did.” She agreed, and opened the door with her free hand.

Derek peered down at them warily, glancing between one and the other with a furrowed brow. “Is this… This _is_ Sheriff Stilinski’s place, right?” He glanced behind him at his sister. “You’re positive you got the address right, right?”

“Oh my god.” Stiles muttered. “Derek, just get in here.” He rolled his eyes and stepped back from the doorway to let the siblings into the house. “I’m Stiles. This is Allison. We have a lot to talk about.”

Laura’s eyes were on Allison, squinting at the girl. “Nice to meet you.” She murmured. “You look familiar.”

Allison stared back at Laura and cleared her throat nervously. “Um. My - my aunt is Kate Argent.” She said softly, taking a step back. She had no weapons on her to defend herself, but the last people she would have wanted to use them on were the Hales.

Stiles put a hand on Allison’s shoulder. “She didn’t ask to be born into that family.” He said quickly. “And she and I have a lot to tell you. It’s best if you just let us tell you.”

Laura folded her arms across her chest. “Talk.”

Allison took a deep breath. “I don’t know if you’re going to believe us, but - Stiles and I are from the future.” She began softly. “And… the way that events played out, where we came from, were vastly different than how they’ve been playing out here, now.”

“In another month... where we got started, I mean.” Stiles began, trying his best to phrase things in a way that the Hales could follow. “Some joggers found a corpse in the woods. Bisected.” He gave them a pointed look. “I was intrigued... um, because I was an idiot. But my best friend was bitten by an alpha werewolf who wasn’t entirely sane. In the year after that, Allison and I dealt with her family trying to kill any and all werewolves, her grandfather attacking me, using her as a bargaining chip, a psychotic jackass leading a kanima around to commit murders for him, a darach sacrificing virgins and parents because her face melted, and... I got possessed. Allison and I were both dying and our last thought... both of us wanted to go back and fix everything. And somehow, we’re here. Maybe we should be more wary of that, but we’re not right now. We’re just trying to set things right.” He took a deep breath. “My dad isn’t here because he’s arresting Kate Argent right now for her part in your house burning down. That takes care of one problem. There are so many others.”

Derek inhaled sharply, glancing at his sister.

Laura furrowed her brow. “That’s a lot of information to take in, and at the same time…” She paused. “Not to be an ass, but why should we believe anything you say?” She gestured at Allison. “We never had a problem with anyone or anything until your family came to Beacon Hills. I know you aren’t them, you were a kid when this all happened, but I also don’t know _you_. For all I know, you’re a very good liar, and you’ve learned how to conceal your lies from our kind. We’ve had to live our lives being incredibly suspicious and paranoid since we left this place. I’m not quite ready to stop being paranoid and suspicious just because two teenagers I don’t know tell me a time-traveling story and say that it’s all okay.”

Allison could feel herself bristling at Laura’s words, but a closer look at the older woman made Allison realize that Laura really _wasn’t_ saying the words to be combative. She exhaled softly. “I wouldn’t trust me either. Us. But you should. Because we _are_ on your side.” She swallowed roughly. “The body that Stiles found in the woods? It was you, Laura. Your uncle finally healed enough that he was able to start functioning again - and he sent you a message to get you to come back to Beacon Hills. You came here thinking that you were looking for the information that you could never get, about how the fire started, and who the fire-starters were. You did, actually. You found several of them, and got hot on the lead that would have taken you right to my aunt.” She shook her head. “Peter wanted revenge, too. But I think… I think he thought that you were taking too long.” She pressed her lips together and looked down.

Derek stared at them both, shaking his head. “Peter wouldn’t do that.” He said quietly. “Everything else, maybe, but he wouldn’t kill my _sister_. He loved Laura. She was always his favorite.”

“He was insane.” Stiles countered. “He’s been in a coma since the fire. His nurse, I don’t know how, is helping him do all of this. She hacked... will hack... is hacking? How do you conjugate time-travel verbs? Anyway, she made it look like a text came from Scott, for Allison. She did the same thing to Scott’s mom, a few months later. I mean, made it look like she was guilty of something.”

“If he is insane, it’s because of what Kate did.” Laura justified, looking shaken even as she did so. The idea that Peter would have murdered her - bisected her, leaving her dead body in the woods - terrified her. The teens in front of her were too earnest about it to be lying. “Der.” She started, turning to look at her brother. “He was practically roasted alive, trying to get into the house, to Aunt Reese.” She shook her head. “And then… we left him here, locked inside his own head for years.”

Derek grit his teeth, but lowered his head, acknowledging Laura’s words and going silent.

Allison swallowed roughly, turning to look at Stiles worriedly.

“Allison isn’t like her family. There...” Stiles gave his girlfriend an apologetic smile. “There was a moment when she might have been, but Gerard was manipulating her. Like I said. Now that she can redo things, she wants to do them right. Like I do. No scouting for corpses in the woods, no suggesting that we murder someone to solve a problem. Yeah, that was my idea. More than once. Scott never listened.”

Allison lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles. “That was probably for the best.” She said, smiling affectionately at him. To Laura and Derek, she took a deep breath and said, “After what my grandfather did to - to so many people, not just you, but definitely you…” She paused, and then shook her head, starting over. “The motto of the Argent family was ‘We hunt those who hunt us.’ But it was wrong, because it left too much margin for error. One skewed perception, and innocent people - like your family - would be attacked, or killed, for no reason whatsoever.” She blinked. “The head of the Argent family is supposed to be the matriarch. My mother… before she died in the old timeline… she was the matriarch. My grandfather proved that her entire tenure was a lie, because he was the one who was really running things from behind the scenes. Once he was outed as the liar he was… and once my father and I were back on track, I started to take the steps necessary to become the new matriarch. The first step, the first real step, was to give the Argents a new motto.” She looked between the siblings. “‘We protect those who cannot protect themselves.’ We’re hunters. But we aren’t savages. Our family line started in order to protect people from an incredible threat. Somewhere along the lines, that message got lost, and hatred and bias took over - and people like Gerard came into power. That won’t happen again. I have a second chance at this life now, and I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to see that what Gerard has done - what _Kate_ has done - will never happen again.”

Laura sat down and motioned for Derek to sit beside her. “If we come back here and stay, we’ll start by making sure that Peter feels like a welcome member of our pack again. We’ll take care of finding him a new nurse, since that’s our responsibility, as it stands. I don’t know what we’ll do after that, but I want a guarantee that you’re the only Argent that we have contact with, and only when at least one other person is present. If that’s Stiles or his dad, whatever. It could be another deputy, as long as you clear it with me first.”

Allison swallowed roughly again, but nodded in agreement. “You have my word on that.” She paused. “But, um. I should probably start by letting my parents know that I know about the hunting thing. Especially because they both looked super paranoid about it when Kate just… showed up at our door.” She grimaced.

“There’s one other thing. Well, not one. Four. But...” Stiles murmured. “There are a few people that would benefit from being turned by you. Last time we did this, Peter bit Scott and then everything kind of went to hell. But Scott’s good. He’s also asthmatic. Like, needing his inhaler every day. It’s that bad. And our friend Erica has epilepsy. I want you to turn them. I know they’ll survive the bite. They did before, and nothing about them has changed.”

Allison nodded. “There’s also Boyd - he’s strong and brave - Derek, he was the closest thing you had to a best friend. But he’s lonely - or he was. But he and Erica are attached at the hip, and anything you offer to Erica, you should offer to him, too. He’d be a good werewolf, he really would.” She straightened. “And - Isaac. There are circumstances beyond his control right now, and Stiles’ dad is working to correct them, but his father… His father is an abusive ass and locks Isaac in a freezer in their basement whether he’s done anything wrong or not. He has no confidence, he has… He has nothing.”

Laura pressed her lips together, listening to Allison and nodding slowly. She looked at Derek, and took a deep breath. “Well… we really should be thinking about rebuilding the pack.” She said softly. “It won’t be the same, but… It could be close.”

Derek looked back at her, then glanced at Allison, still startled by her words about Boyd. He cleared his throat. “It… It’s what Mom would have wanted us to do, I think.” He said quietly.

Allison smiled at them, and then let out a gasp, grasping Stiles’ forearm. “I know we already said ‘one more thing’ but… there’s actually two more things in addition to the four more things we already told you about.” She looked at Stiles, mouthing, ‘Cora and Malia.’

“Oh shit. Yeah.” Stiles blurted. “Okay.” He clapped his hands together. “Cora’s in South America. Malia - I don’t think you even know her. She’s a werecoyote. But she’s Peter’s daughter. Your cousin. I can help you look for her in the woods, but you would have better luck tracking her than I would. Obviously.”

Derek reached out and grasped Laura’s arm, his jaw falling open and his eyes going wide. “Cora’s alive?”

Laura gaped at them both. “Peter’s _daughter_?” She paused. “Wait, why is she a _coyote_?”

“Because of her mother.” Stiles murmured. “Or at least, that’s all we can figure. We don’t know her. We haven’t found her yet. In our... we didn’t have a chance. But we’ll have more time to find her, now.”

“This is too much.” Laura muttered. “We’ll go through one thing at a time. We’ll deal with Peter and his nurse now, and find somewhere to stay tonight. I expect updates.” She stood up. “At least once a day, or as things develop. I’ll want to meet your friends before I decide for certain that they’re welcome. But rebuilding the pack is a good idea now, especially if we’re staying. I’m giving you twenty-four hours to talk to the other Argents and come to an agreement. One that doesn’t result in us being attacked.”

Allison stood as well, nodding earnestly. “We’ll manage something. I think it may be easier now with Kate out of the way, but… that just might mean that Gerard could be on the way next.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you for listening, at the very least.”

Laura nodded back. She had a lot to think about and a lot to accomplish, if she was staying. Even if she decided that she and Derek needed to leave again, there was so much to be done. She turned toward Derek. “Come on, we’d better find a place to spend tonight and then go look around the Preserve.”

Derek stood up, still looking shell-shocked.

Allison hesitated, and then smiled a little. “There’s an abandoned apartment building downtown, in the factory district. Derek lived on the very top floor. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t belong to anyone right now.”

Laura squinted at Allison thoughtfully, and then glanced back at her brother. “I swear to god, if this place makes you look like a squatter, Der, we’re having words.” She murmured, and patted her brother’s arm.

Derek grunted. “Because the apartment in New York was so classy.”

Stiles laughed. “It wasn’t so bad. Better than the abandoned train station he was hiding out in, anyway.”

Laura spun and looked at Derek in disbelief. “An abandoned _train station_?”

Allison bit her lip. “It was still better than where he was staying before that.” She told the older woman softly.

Laura looked at her, furrowing her brows. “Well, where the hell did he stay before?”

Derek looked at Allison, and then looked down, somehow already knowing the answer before she said a word.

Allison exhaled. “Your old house. But don’t - don’t be mad at him for that, either. He… There was a point, after he came back, where he got arrested because everyone in town thought that he’d been the one to kill you. Even after he was exonerated… he still sort of got frowned on by everyone in Beacon Hills.”

“Which was partly my fault.” Stiles blurted. “So that’s why... I just want to set things right, since I can.”

Derek eyed Stiles for a long moment, and then nudged his sister. “Let’s go find this abandoned building thing. You’ll get a kick out of redecorating it, I’m sure.”

Allison smiled at them as Derek started making his way to the door. “We’ll get in touch with you later. I promise.”

Stiles nodded, standing up a little straighter and taking a step toward Allison, his gaze on the door as he waited for both Hales to be through it, so that he could go upstairs with his girlfriend.

Allison’s eyes caught Stiles’, and she ducked her head with a smile, her cheeks reddening as she slowly took a step back, toward the stairs. “Bye!” She called to Derek and Laura, and then bolted up the steps.

Laura paused, nostrils flaring and ears pricking up, before she turned and looked at Stiles in speculation. “Hmm.” She smirked, draping an arm around her brother’s shoulders. “Let’s get out of here, Der. Far away.”

Derek glanced at her, nodding. “Yeah, before the teenage hormone stink gets too strong.” He muttered as he headed toward the car, his voice fading the farther away he got.

Laura grinned, and in minutes, they were pulling onto the road and driving off.


	14. Like Gasoline

Stiles kissed Allison’s shoulder as he thrust slowly into her, closing his eyes. He had been looking forward to this for longer than he should have had any right to, back when Allison was dating Scott. He had stayed silent about it, knowing that it would be cruel to ever mention it to anyone. 

Allison gasped softly, reaching up with one hand to press her palm to the back of Stiles’ head. Her head fell back, and her other hand settled on Stiles’ back, her nails raking gently over his skin. She closed her eyes, wrapping her legs around him. She’d been so consumed with Scott before that she never had given Stiles a passing thought as to who he could be and what he could do - and a part of her felt ashamed by that. She had told him that anyone who was worthy of him would have given him more than just a passing glance, but in the old timeline, she’d barely done that. Now, she felt like she would scream if someone dared to pull her away from him. Tilting her head to the side, she dove forward to kiss him desperately, holding him tight. “I want you so much.”

“Yeah?” Stiles breathed out, opening his eyes and looking down at her as he moved. “I want to keep you. I mean, not... not in a weird, creepy way.” He stammered, his face turning a little red in embarrassment. “I just like that we’re together now.” 

Allison smiled up at him, lifting her head to kiss him again. “Me, too.” She sighed softly, her hips shifting under his. She whimpered softly. “You make me feel so full,” she told him, squeezing his arm.

“I do?” Stiles glanced down, as though he could get a look at himself from that angle. He laughed at his reaction. “Okay. I’m going to tell you something.” He murmured, nodding. “But it might not be the right thing to tell you.” 

Allison stilled, looking up at him warily. “Are you sure now is the right time to tell me?” She asked carefully. “Is it going to make me want to kick you?”

“Maybe.” Stiles admitted. “But if I don’t say it now, I might not say it.” 

Allison studied him for a long moment, and then relaxed against the bed, setting her feet down on the mattress and nodding. “Tell me.”

“I wanted you when you were with Scott.” Stiles smiled softly. “I had to listen to him talk about you all the time and I begged him to stop it, and he wouldn’t. It was frustrating.” 

Allison stared up at him, her face falling. She reached a hand up to cup his cheek. “I’m so sorry.” She breathed. “And I sort of want to slap Scott now. Which is frustrating because this Scott isn’t the one who… did that.” She scowled, but shook her head, wrapping her arms around Stiles. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry he did that. I’m sorry you had to listen to it.” She kissed his cheek, exhaling softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t see you first.”

“It worked out, anyway.” Stiles murmured. “I’m just trying not to speak in porn cliches right now.” He laughed. “I feel like anything else I have to say is just going to sound stupid.” 

Allison grinned up at him. “Probably, but I’d probably enjoy hearing it, too.” She admitted, lifting her head to kiss him. 

“So if I were to tell you that I like how tight and wet you are, that would be okay?” Stiles asked quietly, staring down at Allison. 

Allison’s breathing quickened, and she gulped, staring at him as she nodded. “Y-Yeah, that’s - that would be - good.” She stuttered, clenching around him.

Stiles groaned. “Oh my god. I’m trying not to come. Not yet, anyway.” He slowed down the pace of his hips. “Still good?” 

Nodding eagerly, Allison chewed on her lower lip, lifting her legs once more to wrap around him. “So good.” She exhaled. “Keep going. I don’t - I don’t mind if you come.” She told him, her head tilting back once more. “I want it. I want you to come inside me.”

Stiles gripped Allison’s thighs and started pounding into her. “Fuck.” He breathed heavily. “Just... you need to stay with me. You will, right? You’ll stay?” 

Allison sobbed, all but hanging on to Stiles with her fingers and nodding frantically. “Yeah, yes. I will, yes, I’ll stay. Always with you, yes.”

Stiles kissed Allison’s shoulder again as he came, smiling against her skin. 

Allison’s mouth fell open, shutting her eyes as she shuddered and came around Stiles, whimpering softly as her body jerked gently against his. She fell back against the mattress, letting out a soft sigh.

Stiles pulled out and laid down on his side, next to Allison. He rested a hand on her stomach, his fingers moving over her skin as his palm stayed flat. He lifted his head to kiss her. “Thank you. That’s probably a weird thing, me thanking you. Whatever, though.” 

Allison let out a soft, contented noise, giggling softly as she kissed him back. “Mm, you are so welcome.” She teased him, turning onto her side to properly face him. She slid her arm around his waist, the fingers of her other hand tracing his chest lightly.

Stiles laughed. “Oh, I’m welcome?” He teased. “So I can do this again, then? That’s what you’re saying? I’m planning on that. Just...” He yawned. “Damn it. After we sleep? And then we have to go talk to your parents.” 

Allison put her hand over his mouth, whining. “No, don’t yawn, it’ll make me -” She shut her eyes as her mouth opened wide into the unwanted yawn. “Crap.” She mumbled sleepily, but nodded. “Yes to Mom and Dad. And yes to doing this again. Yes to everything with you.”

“You might want to rethink that.” Stiles grinned as he closed his eyes. “I have a feeling that your definition of ‘everything’ isn’t the same as mine.” 

Allison laughed again, the sound faltering as she yawned and put her head down on Stiles’ chest. “Like… everything.” She breathed out.

**

_Stiles rolled his hips against Allison’s from behind as they laid on their sides. His fingers brushed over her nipples, and he grinned against her hair when he heard her moan. “Mine.” He lifted one hand, his fingers splaying across her throat as he kissed her shoulder. He was pretty sure he was in love with her shoulders. A moment later, he was on his back, but his smile faded when the person straddling him wasn’t Allison at all._

_The nogitsune laughed. “This is a little bit unexpected, isn’t it, Stiles? Let me show you how it’s done.” He reached down, wrapping his hands around Stiles’ throat. “See, the way it works best is if you apply pressure with your thumbs. Right to the windpipe. Of course, there’s always the method of suffocating them with a pillow. But then you can’t see the look on their face or watch the light fade out of their eyes as they’re dying. You’ve always been a little bit suicidal, haven’t you? Why don’t you try strangling me and see what happens? You’ve got that spark, according to Deaton.” He let go of Stiles’ throat with one hand and tapped the side of his head. “I know all about you.”_

_Stiles wished desperately for a weapon, and then he was clutching a silver knife. He stabbed the nogitsune in the side, then scrambled backward on the bed to give himself enough leverage to kick the evil kitsune away from him. He climbed off the bed, flinging the knife aside as his eyes darkened and the smile on his face grew as cruel as his doppelganger’s. “I think I might actually take you up on that.” He started strangling the nogitsune, picturing him as being immobile from kanima venom. It worked, and the demonic creature looked scared._

_“Stiles - Stiles - off me - get off - please, I can't - breathe-”_

The sound of something crashing to the floor and shattering was accompanied by ragged gasps and a body struggling beneath Stiles. Allison had been woken up out of a bad dream - and right into a nightmare. Her hands were wrapped tightly around Stiles’ wrists as she struggled to breathe in and get him to loosen his grip. She kicked out, panting, and strained once more to get her boyfriend off of her. “Stiles, wake _up_!”

Stiles blinked, then recoiled. He rolled to the side, then got to his feet and ran to the bathroom, retching. After rinsing his mouth, he walked back down the hall to his room, but didn’t go in. “Get dressed.” He called out to her. “I’ll be in the bathroom until you’re done, and then I want you to go downstairs and take my Jeep to get yourself home.”

Allison inhaled deeply, swallowing roughly and rubbing at her throat. “No, you're not staying in there, and I'm not leaving until I know what the hell happened.” She told him firmly, her voice rasping. “What the hell was that? I'm not pissed at you, that - that wasn't you…” She gulped. “Was it?”

“It _was_ me!” Stiles’ voice shook. “Don’t you get that? It doesn’t matter if I meant to do it or not, if I was tricked or if I wasn’t. My hands were the ones choking you.” He moved backward, sitting in the bathroom doorway. “I’m the one that fucks everything up. Don’t you get that? I wanted to find half of Laura. Like it was a game. I left Scott in the woods. I drove Derek around in my Jeep while he was dying from your aunt’s bullet, but I acted like he was inconveniencing me. I wanted to kill Jackson. And Derek. I hit Scott with lacrosse balls and watched him get kicked in the ribs and handcuffed him to his radiator, and it was all because I was angry and jealous. I’m not a good guy. That’s the real reason nobody ever... I just want you to be safe. Away from me.”

Allison was up in an instant, advancing on him. “Like I was any better? Stiles, seriously? I'm the one that shot Erica. I'm the one that turned Boyd into a pincushion. I stabbed Isaac, I could have killed Scott if he had actually stood in my way to Derek, and I was fully prepared to kill _him_ , too. Did I go after you at all, by the way? Did I threaten you? I could have. I didn't know you were in our basement, you know. I had no idea. Do you think that if I had known that, I would have helped you? In the mind space that j was in, would I have rescued you from my own grandfather? Because I don't think I would have. I think I'd have left you there. I'm not a nice person, either, Stiles, not when the people close to me are threatened or hurt. You saw the worst of me when my mother killed herself - that wasn't all Gerard’s doing. He made a few suggestions, and I was so angry and in pain that I went along with them.” She stared down at him. “You would never hurt me if you could help it. I know you wouldn't. So what made you do it? Did you have a vision? Did you see something about me? Am I going to hurt you somehow? What did - who did you see?”

Stiles exhaled slowly. He didn't get up, vulnerable as he was on the floor and still naked. “The nogitsune. It was choking me. I don’t know how, but I fought him off. And then I started choking him. I - he looked scared. I was beating him at his own game. But it wasn't him. I was strangling you. I was actually hurting you. I could have killed you. But it was like he was trying to train me. To make me become what he is. It was probably just a nightmare though, right? He can't be in my head anymore. We got him out.” 

Allison studied him silently before she spoke again. “We got _you_ out.” She murmured. “He took over your body. Whatever Scott and Lydia did… You threw yourself up, out of the nogitsune.” She shook her head. “I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but it happened. But he should be locked away, right now. He should still be in that jar, inside the Nemeton.” She pressed her lips together and sank down next to Stiles, her hands in her lap. Exhaling softly, she focused on Stiles. “Unless he’s not. Unless… He never left you. Or if he… somehow made a jump, and he's in me now. Or… If he followed us back, somehow? I don't know. I just… The snake in the house, that first night I stayed over, the power going out…” She chewed on her lower lip, furrowing her brow. “I've been thinking that something hinky was going on. I wasn't sure what, but… maybe he's behind it.” She shifted forward a little. “And… the reason I'm not running away from you? It's because the minute I said your name, you snapped out of it.”

“No, you said ‘wake up.’ That’s what got my attention. That’s what I yelled at myself constantly, before. When he was taking over and I couldn't tell what was real and what was a dream. So, what then? The nogitsune gave us a one-way trip back here and came along to play tour guide? Why? A snake and a power outage aren’t all that fear-inducing. Unless...” Stiles looked up at Allison, then got to his feet and went back to his room. He started getting dressed silently, not speaking again until his jeans were fastened. “The snake scared you. The power being out had the same effect. And now this. This is about you. He just wants me to feel responsible. I didn’t before. I do now. So where is he? Why is he hiding? He took a lot of pride in his work before.”

Allison shook her head, standing up again as well. She didn't approach Stiles, folding her arms over her chest defensively as the thought came unbidden to her mind. She licked her lips. “Maybe… Maybe things happened the way they were supposed to, in the old timeline. Maybe I wasn't supposed to survive the Oni, and me begging for a second chance was… just his sick way of making us suffer more.” The thought turned her stomach - the idea that the nogitsune had sent them both into the past under the pretense that their wishes had come true, only to turn that dream, that they could save everyone, into a living nightmare was more than she could bear. It meant that her mother would still be guilty of attempting to murder Scott, that Kate would have gotten away with the murder of the Hale family until Peter - high on the alpha power that he'd stolen with his niece’s murder - caught up to her. She looked up at Stiles. It would mean that everything she'd come to feel for Stiles was everything she wasn't supposed to feel - was _never_ supposed to feel. She blinked, feeling wetness trickle down her cheek and realized that she'd silently begun crying. 

“I don’t think that’s it.” Stiles said softly, hesitating before he put his hands on her elbows. He smiled faintly and turned, grabbing her shirt and handing it to her. “If we weren’t supposed to be here like this...” He shrugged one shoulder. “I’m not really religious or anything, but I think the universe has ways to correct itself. And maybe that’s what we’re doing here. The nogitsune wasn’t even the start, as far as we know. I mean, the tree was there before he was. But he’s the earliest thing we know about.” 

Allison took her shirt from him, staring down at it with a sigh. “But it’s not about him. Or you. You said it. It’s about me. It about… us. You _and_ me.” She paused, putting the shirt on slowly and tugging nervously at the sleeves. “Maybe he wants you to kill me. Maybe he made it possible for us to be together so that it would hurt you and break you that much more if you were the reason I was dead.”

“But he wouldn’t have needed to do that by bringing us here. I was already blaming myself.” Stiles admitted. “Your parents are going to murder me.” 

“I wouldn’t let them.” Allison murmured, giving him a small smile. “I think they’re half in love with you, honestly.”

“You have finger-shaped bruises all over your neck.” Stiles sighed. “If I saw you walking around like that, I’d wrap my baseball bat in barbed wire and swing at anyone who looked at you twice.” 

“They can try.” Allison exhaled. “But I won’t _let_ them.” She said again. She swallowed and hesitantly reached for his hand. “If either of them try… I’m faster with a crossbow and my daggers than my mom is with her knife and my dad is with his guns.”

“Why? I hurt you. It doesn’t matter if I meant to do it or not, you could have died if I hadn’t stopped in time. I deserve what they’re willing to give me.” Stiles nodded. “I’m driving you home. I’ll explain myself and then if they want me to leave you alone... if it was reversed and my dad told you to stay away, I think you’d respect it. I’m going to respect it.” 

Allison didn’t reply. She finished getting dressed unhappily, her arms folded around her waist as she headed for the door.

Stiles tilted his head back in frustration, then followed Allison downstairs and out to the Jeep. 

Allison tugged open the passenger side door to the Jeep and slid inside, slumping against the back of the seat. After a moment, she said softly, “You realize that if they do say something, and I don’t defend you… They’ll probably forbid me from seeing you ever again.” She looked up at him. “It wouldn’t stop me from seeking you out anyway, but… It just wouldn’t…” She faltered, and then shook her head. “I don’t want to be banned from seeing you. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I just want you to be safe.” Stiles stared at Allison. “That’s all I want. I don’t want to lose you, either. This just started and I like it. I like you. But that’s why I want you to not freaking die!” He took a deep breath. “Okay?” 

Allison nodded, staring down at her lap. “Okay.” She said softly.

Stiles drove to Allison’s house, getting out and waiting for her. He wanted to reach for her hand, but he stuck his hands in his pockets, instead. 

Allison trudged toward the house, opening the front door and peering around carefully. “I’m home.” She called quietly.

Chris came down the stairs, slowing when he caught sight of his daughter and Stiles. “Everything okay?” He asked carefully, frowning.

“Actually, sir?” Stiles murmured, looking up at Chris. He wasn’t normally so formal, but he felt like this situation definitely called for it. “No, it’s not. Allison and I fell asleep and I had a nightmare, and...” He gestured toward Allison. “I woke up with my hands around her throat. She thinks I’m overreacting, but I told her that it may be best if she stays away from me. And safe.” 

“What?” Chris quickly moved over to Allison, cupping her face in his hands and lifting her head despite her protests. He shot a dark look at Stiles. “What the hell were you dreaming about that would constitute putting your damn hands around my little girl’s neck?”

Allison let out a furious noise and pushed away from Chris. She stomped upstairs, looking disgusted.

“What’s going on?” Victoria demanded, walking in from the kitchen. 

“There’s something we need to talk about.” Stiles sighed. “I was hoping she’d do this with me, but she doesn’t want to talk to me right now because she thinks I’m making a mistake in asking her to keep her distance. For her safety.” 

“What did you do?” Victoria asked, but she didn’t wait for an answer, just ran up the stairs to find Allison. 

“What happened?” Chris turned to Stiles, frowning. “What would possess you to put your hands on her, even in your sleep? What were you dreaming about?”

“This is going to take a while to explain.” Stiles murmured. “Okay. Allison knows that you’re a hunter. She knows her family history. And she knows because she and I have already been through this before. I mean, we... it was November in two thousand-eleven. Things went sideways and we ended up here. I’m sorry we lied about how we met, but we weren’t ready to tell you. The last thing we were dealing with, I got possessed. I had no control over myself. And I still have nightmares about it. Here, it hasn’t happened yet. It might not. But for me, that was just weeks ago, when it finally stopped. I was dreaming that I was choking... it. Him. Whatever.” 

Chris stared at Stiles. “...Setting aside the idea that you’re actually from the future… what was it called?” He asked slowly. “The thing that possessed you?”

“Nogitsune.” Stiles stared at Chris. “I also know that you’ve dealt with one before. Or at least an Oni? I didn’t really get all of the details, I was kind of out of it.” 

Chris pressed his lips together unhappily. “The Oni. Yes. When I was about your age.” He paused, then shook his head, deciding that now wasn’t the time to get into the technicalities of that. “How was it set free? More importantly, how did it possess you? Is it still at large?” The thought kept running through his mind that no one would be safe if the evil fox spirit could enter someone’s dream.

“It wasn’t exactly set free.” Stiles admitted. “It kind of... cloned me? Or... I don’t know what it did, exactly. Just that there was me, and him. And I was the copy? I’m still trying to figure it out, but I have to be honest here, I haven’t given it too much thought. I was mostly just relieved that I was free from him. But as for how he got to me in the first place, there was this sacrifice that needed to happen, and it used me because I was the weakest of the three of us that had to, uh, give ourselves to the nemeton. For all I know, the original timeline is still running concurrently with this one. I don’t know if we’ve fully reset things or if we’re separate.” 

Chris sat down heavily, frowning. “Given that you look like you’re fifteen, I’d imagine that you… don’t have a body anymore in the future. Allison hasn’t changed to me. She looks the same as she always has.” He rubbed at his eyes. “I’m - going to need to do some research. And some apologizing to Allison.” He narrowed his gaze at Stiles, studying the younger man and keeping in mind what he and his wife had talked about in regards to Stiles and Allison being together. “It doesn’t sound like you’re possessed. But you’re… you’re a good kid for wanting to keep Allison safe by keeping her away. So… I want to thank you for that.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how to feel about the fact that it was your hands around her neck.”

Stiles nodded. “I’ve tried to convince her that this is the best option, but... I guess she really likes me?” He smiled crookedly, then sighed. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. Um. I want to tell you something else, but I think she would be angry if she wasn’t here for it, and since she’s not currently speaking to me, or so I’m assuming? I think it’ll have to wait. But I appreciate you not murdering me the second you saw the marks. I don’t know that I would have had that same restraint. I told her as much.” 

“I’m still restraining myself.” Chris said bluntly, raising his eyes and looking at Stiles. “She’s my only daughter. If I suspected that you were any kind of threat to her, you wouldn’t see me coming. Even worse, you wouldn’t see Victoria coming. Understand me?” He studied the younger man for a moment. “Luckily for you, I’ve seen the way you look at Ally. I guess the time-travel thing does explain your connection and how quickly you seemed to get to know each other, but I’ve watched you look at her, and that’s the same way I look at my wife. I imagine it’s probably the same way your father looked at your mother.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “She’s a smart girl. She might be upset about it now, but she’ll understand. I’ll do what research I can, hopefully I can help you out.” He went silent, and then nodded eventually. “I like you. You treat her with respect, and you’re obviously head over heels for her. There are worse boys she could be with.”

Stiles nodded. “Thank you.” He glanced toward the stairs, but shook his head at himself. “Please just... um, nevermind. I’m going. I really am sorry.” He couldn’t stop himself from looking at the stairs again, but he turned and went back out to the Jeep. 

Chris stared after him for a moment, standing in the doorway of the house. “Stiles.” He called after him eventually. “Give her a little time. I don’t for an instant think that she’s going to stay angry with you. And whenever you’re ready to sit down with me and tell me what’s actually bothering you, I’ll be here.”

“But I did tell you.” Stiles frowned. “I’ve said everything that I can say.” 

“Except for whatever you were going to say just now.” Chris pointed out. 

“I just don’t want her to be angry with me. I want her to understand.” Stiles bit his lip. “But that’s probably asking too much. I can make a dying wish to come back here...” He froze, his face draining of color as he realized that he had just told Chris, without actually saying the words, that Allison had been dying, too. 

Chris straightened, staring at Stiles, his eyes widening. “A dying wish?” His face paled. “You and Allison were dying? What - what happened? How did she - how did _you_ \- what happened?”

“I was weak. She was attacked by an Oni.” Stiles said quietly. “You won’t have to think about killing me now, she’ll do it for you. I don’t think she wanted me to tell you, and definitely not like this.” 

Chris put his head in his hands, and then dragged his palms through his hair, shaking his head. “Well. This is definitely not going to happen again. This… this isn’t going to happen again. I don’t know what needs to be done to be rid of this nogitsune, but I’ll find out. I’ll end him right now, and I’ll make sure that he can’t ever come back, in this timeline or the next.”

Stiles blinked at the sudden lack of daylight. The night sky was overhead, and he looked back at Chris. “This is what he does.” He frowned. “I don’t know why he would choose this, but he has his own reasons for everything. He doesn’t follow any rules. Not ever.” 

Chris’ eyes narrowed, and he looked up at the sky warily, pressing his lips tightly together. A gun was suddenly in his hand, having been concealed at the small of his back beneath his sweater. “He might not have to for much longer, if I have my way.” He muttered, his eyes flicking around and searching for movement.

“You’re joking, right?” Stiles protested. “You can’t just shoot him and think that’s enough. He’s like, a thousand years old. Pretty sure he wouldn’t have made it that long if bullets were enough to stop him.” 

Chris glanced at Stiles. “He might be using someone as cannon fodder. I wouldn’t enjoy it, but I’ll defend against it.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Stiles murmured. “But you haven’t dealt with him. Allison and I have. We know how dangerous he is and what we’re up against. I wasn’t even sure until now that he was involved, but this?” He pointed up at the sky. “This doesn’t just happen.” A moment later, the sky went back to normal, and Stiles heard laughter coming from the roof. 

Chris’s head shot up, his gaze searching the roof warily. When he caught no sight of the nogitsune, he scowled and put the safety back on his gun, before tucking it back into his waistband. “I suppose you’re right.” He muttered. “Regardless. We’re going to end this.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah.” He hoped he sounded more certain than he felt.


	15. Awakening

Victoria glanced at Allison, then looked back at Stiles. She silently got up from the table and started making a pot of coffee. “I think we’re going to be here for some time.” She spoke over her shoulder. It had taken awhile, but every event that her daughter had lived through had been discussed. Although she was angry at the boy for hurting her daughter, she knew that Allison’s lack of rebellion had culminated in this, her attraction to Stiles. Forbidding her to see him was a guaranteed way to get Allison to sneak out and spend all of her time with the Sheriff’s son, whether Stiles liked it or not. “I can’t imagine what sort of circumstances would have led me to behave the way you’re both saying that I did. I’ll admit that I would prefer Allison _not_ date a werewolf, however.” She started getting coffee mugs out of the cabinet. “He must have done something.” 

“Who? Scott?” Stiles shook his head. “No. Scott’s my best friend and he’s a lot more considerate than I am. He’s only ever been openly defiant of one person, and that’s his own father. His alcoholic, shoved-him-down-the-stairs-once father. So he has a good reason not to like the guy.” He grimaced. “He probably wouldn’t want me telling you that story. But you have to know what kind of guy he is. Until Allison told me she wasn’t interested in Scott, I was all set to try to get them together here. I thought, at first, that I was the only one that came back.” 

“Mama, Scott’s a good person.” Allison said quietly, looking at the table. “He was - in the other timeline, there were a lot of misunderstandings… and Gerard was here at the time, so I think we were all under a significant amount of pressure thanks to him. I don’t… I don’t know why you would have gone after him, other than… someone telling you to, or… because he was a werewolf, but you did. You - you tried to poison him with wolfsbane vapor. To make it look like an asthma attack.” She shook her head. “It - I think I only felt the way that I did about him before because… maybe because of his instincts, and my hormones meshing. He intrigued me, and…” She trailed off, shrugging. “I was seventeen without ever having had a serious relationship.” She didn’t dare glance at Stiles, as much as she wanted to. “He was my first love. That’s all there was to that.”

Stiles nodded, also avoiding Allison’s gaze. “One of the first things I did was make a timeline of everything we just told you both. I can’t say for certain how things will change, but I have ideas for how they _might_. There are just a lot of variables I can’t factor in. I didn’t know that Allison and Scott would have no interest in each other this time around. I couldn’t have predicted Kate showing up here about a month early. But we have your word to leave the Hales alone?” He asked. “Even as they turn the others? Assuming that they do, I mean. Laura doesn’t seem so sure that she will.” 

“As long as the betas don’t lose control of themselves, we won’t have to intervene.” Victoria set cups down in front of Allison and Stiles, then turned back to the counter to get the other two for herself and Chris. She set her husband’s down by him, then sat back down in her chair. “Stiles, you’re good at putting things together and you have a good comprehension of demonology. Have you considered becoming a hunter?” 

Stiles blinked. “Not even for a second.” He blurted. “I don’t mean any offense. It’s just that I saw what your family was capable of and I didn’t want any part of that. Now, if you’re really willing to do things differently, then maybe.” He conceded. “I’ll give it more thought. I don’t really have a plan, though. I mean, I kind of want to be a deputy, but I’m clumsy. And loud. And I don’t know how to use a gun, outside of the practical knowledge. No actual experience. I never thought of anything beyond ‘I’m going to the same college as Scott.’ That was it.” 

“There goes the ‘trained by his dad’ theory.” Chris murmured, lifting his cup to conceal the movement of his mouth. He sighed and drank carefully before setting the cup down again. “Alright. There are several things that we’ll obviously have to work on - Gerard being one of them. I have no desire to bring him to Beacon Hills.” He frowned. “Unfortunately, he has ways of finding out information anywhere, and he likely knew that Kate was arrested an hour after it happened.” He glanced at Victoria. “There won’t be any stopping him from showing up when he wants to. But we might be able to delay him a little bit. Send him on a little bit of a wild goose chase.”

“We’ll have a couple of Allison’s friends come stay here.” Victoria smiled at her daughter. “ _Female_ friends. If there’s no space for him to stay here, he just won’t be able to. And I refuse to let him try to convince me otherwise. This is our home. He’ll have to figure it out on his own.” 

Chris looked back at her affectionately, smiling and placing his hand on top of hers. “You’re damn right he will.”

Allison watched her parents and then snuck a glance at Stiles before forcing her gaze back down to the table. “I can ask Lydia and Erica if they can stay over. I don’t have anyone else to ask, though,” she said quietly.

“Give it time.” Stiles murmured. He glanced at Allison, then looked away. “I should get going. But I’ll come get you tomorrow.” He spoke to Allison, even though he stared at the table. “To talk to Laura.” 

Allison sniffled softly, nodding. “Okay,” she murmured. “I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Chris frowned, and then sighed heavily, his eyes on his daughter. He stood and gestured at Stiles. “Come on. I’ll walk you out, son.”

“Okay.” Stiles got up from the table and followed Chris out to the Jeep. He felt sick to his stomach and hadn’t even touched his coffee because he knew he would only make it worse. 

Chris put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright.” He said quietly. “It will. This won’t be forever.”

“Thanks for saying that, but you don’t know me.” Stiles muttered. “I really think, if she’s smart... not if. She _is_ smart... she’ll find someone that isn’t prone to making stupid mistakes.” He grimaced. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning.” 

Chris pursed his lips together. “Alright.” He cleared his throat. “Stiles, maybe I don’t know you, but I know my little girl. I know the way she trusts, and I know how her heart works. And I can see it all over her face when she looks at you. I don’t know what about you Allison sees, but whatever it is… I’m inclined to trust her judgment.”

Stiles smiled faintly. He opened the driver’s side door and got into the Jeep, looking out at Chris before he spoke again. “You never would have said this to Scott.” He remarked. “I want you to remember that when you meet him.” 

Chris squinted at Stiles, but nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll do my best.”

Stiles nodded and closed his door, then drove off. He blinked as he drove toward the sunset, reminding himself to get sunglasses soon. When his eyes refocused, he was in the middle of the desert, staring up at a rock formation that seemed like it didn’t belong there. It was a little after nine am, and he had no idea where he was, but it definitely wasn’t Beacon Hills. He called Allison, looking around for a bottle of water on the floorboards. 

“Stiles?” Allison answered worriedly. “Where are you? Your dad’s been trying to get ahold of you for hours, are you okay?”

Stiles cleared his throat. “I think so. I don’t know where I am. I just woke up. I don’t think I was asleep, though. I think... I think he got to me again. I’m in the desert. You’re going to have to meet Laura with my dad. I won’t be back in time. I’m sorry. I’ll do what I can to get there by tonight. Tell Laura we held up our end of the deal so far, she’s got to meet everyone and at least offer them the bite. But you have to make Scott do it. Please? Allison, my battery’s going dead and I don’t have a charger in here.” He glanced at his gas gauge. “And I’m on empty. Motherfucker. He really doesn’t want me near you, huh? Sucks for him. If you still want me, I mean.” 

Allison cursed. “Stiles, of course I still want you! That’s why we’re fighting!” She inhaled. “Dammit. Okay. I’ll meet Laura, but I’m getting your dad to track your GPS, and then I’m sending _my_ parents to get you, okay? With a tank of gas! And you had better be safe and not let him get to you because I swear to god I will kick your ass when I see you again! Do you hear me? Because - I need to see you again, okay?”

“Okay.” Stiles murmured, smiling. “I’ll do what I can.” He ran the fingers of his other hand through his hair, forgetting that he had a buzz cut and not a whole lot of hair to speak of. 

Allison went quiet, letting out a soft exhalation of air. “Be safe, Stiles.” She said again, softly. 

“I will.” Stiles sighed. “I miss you.” As he stared at the top of the cliff ahead of him, he saw a bolt of lightning strike down at the top of it. There were no clouds in the sky and nothing to indicate that it was going to rain, and he was intrigued - even though he knew he shouldn’t be. 

“I miss you, too.” Allison jumped at the echo of the lightning cracking across the phoneline. She furrowed her brow. “Stiles… Come back to me.” She said firmly, sounding wary. “Please. Be ready, when you see my parents. Please.”

“You say that like you think I won’t be.” Stiles murmured. 

“I don’t know if he has plans for you.” Allison replied softly. “I don’t want to give him the chance to try anything. And I don’t know where you are, and it’s freaking me out because I want you back home right now.”

“Allison, it’s going to be fine. You’ll talk to Laura, Laura will bite everybody, everybody will start to heal, I’ll come home, we’ll move on with trying to figure out how to get rid of your asshole grandfather.” Stiles said casually. “Okay? All systems go, or whatever the hell.” 

Allison laughed softly. “If you say so. But mostly I just want you home because I love you.” Her eyes went wide, and her mouth opened as the words slipped out.

“Wait, you what?” Stiles listened intently for a long moment, then realized his phone had died. He groaned and put his head down on the steering wheel. His mouth felt dry, so he got out and started moving things around until he found the bottle of water he was sure he had hidden somewhere. It barely had enough for a full drink, and lightning cracked as it hit the cliff again. He knew that wasn’t normal. Despite his better judgment, he walked toward the large rock formation. “Sorry, Allison.” He murmured. “I’ve never been good at sitting still.” 

**

“Stiles?” Allison said, frowning. “Stiles!” She pulled the phone away from her ear and frowned when she saw that the call had disconnected. Sighing, she realized that his battery must have died. Biting her lower lip, she headed into the living room and straight for her mother. “Mom, I need your help. I think the nogitsune is trying to forcibly keep Stiles away.” She looked up at Victoria and exhaled. “He said he’s in the desert somewhere, but he doesn’t know where, and he doesn’t remember driving there, the Jeep is out of gas, and now his battery is dead. I do _not_ have a good feeling about this.”

Victoria looked alarmed. “You have to meet the Hales, don’t you?” She was still a little wary, but trusted that the Sheriff would keep Allison safe. “We’ll drive you over to the Stilinskis’ home and see if he can get us a GPS location. Your dad and I will go look for him. I don’t want you missing this meeting, god knows that it could be taken as a declaration of war if you don’t show up.” 

Allison exhaled in relief, throwing her arms around her mother. “You really are the best.” She said softly. “That was exactly what I was going to ask you. Thank you so much.”

Victoria smiled. “You won’t be thanking me after I tell you this. Your father and I are considering talking Stiles’ dad into an arranged marriage between the two of you. Even if you break up, there won’t be any getting out of it.” 

Allison blinked at her mother. “Wha- uh. I’m… not…” She trailed off, and then started again, her voice soft. “I’m not really planning to break up with him.” She stuttered, her eyes wide. “But… I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t hate it.”

“You don’t mind that we’ve planned out at least part of your future for you?” Victoria frowned. “Much as we’ve raised you not to challenge us too much, I expected at least a little resistance in something like this.” 

Allison looked sheepish. “I… may have blurted out that I loved him right before his battery died.” She admitted.

Victoria’s expression changed to one of sympathy. She hugged Allison. “We’re going to get him back for you.” She said firmly. 

Allison clutched at her mother tightly, resting her forehead briefly against Victoria’s shoulder. She pulled back and smiled up at her mother softly. “I know you will. I believe you.” She took a deep breath and pulled away. “God. Okay, what time is it? I’ve got to get to Laura and the Sheriff and Derek. Where’s Daddy?”

“Downstairs.” Victoria smiled. “Let’s get going.” 

Allison beamed at her and nodded, turning to run down the steps. “Dad, let’s go!” She called.

Chris appeared in the doorway, smirking. “Just waiting for you two.” He told her. “Get in the truck. The Sheriff is waiting for us.” He made his way out to the truck, opening the doors.

**

Laura opened the door for Allison and John, nodding to both of them in silent greeting. She stepped back to let them in. 

Allison took a step inside the room, looking around carefully before she smiled at them. “Thank you,” she murmured.

Derek looked up at them and gave the Sheriff a wide smile. “Sheriff Stilinski.” He greeted immediately. “It’s good to see you, sir.” He stuck his hand out to the Sheriff in greeting.

John smiled at Derek and Laura both. “It’s good to see you both, too. You’re looking well.”

Laura smiled faintly. “Stiles decided not to come today, after all?” 

Allison faltered, unable to stop herself from looking worried. “Stiles is actually-”

“Indisposed at the moment.” John interjected smoothly. “He may be by a little later tonight, but he wasn’t quite able to make it out here for the meeting, unfortunately.” 

Laura frowned. “That wasn’t exactly the truth. What’s going on?” 

Allison glanced at the Sheriff, and then back at Laura. “Stiles was driving home last night from my house, only he never got there. He gave me a call today, just before he left to come here, and said that he found himself in the middle of nowhere with an empty tank and a dying battery. All I know is that he’s in the desert, and I heard a lightning strike on his end.” She shook her head. “Mr. Stilinski is running Stiles’ GPS tracker on his phone, and my parents are driving out to look for him.”

Laura turned toward Derek. “Go get Stiles’ friends and bring them here. It’ll be easier to stay in contact if we’re all in the same place.”

Derek nodded, slipping past John and Allison silently as he made his way toward the exit.

“Can I offer either of you something to drink?” Laura asked her guests. “We don’t have a lot, yet. We bought some seltzer water last night, or I could call Derek and tell him to bring something else back with him?” 

Allison smiled at Laura. “Seltzer water is fine.” She nodded.

John held a hand up, looking bemused. “I’ll abstain.”

Laura smiled back at Allison, nodding to John as she walked toward the kitchen. It was an open floor plan, so their kitchen was just a few steps away from the living room, which had no furniture. “It’s a little hard to be the pack provider when the only pack members are my derelict brother and my comatose uncle.” She remarked dryly as she handed a drink to Allison. “Neither one of them require much in the way of furniture, and I haven’t exactly had time to get anything, anyway. But soon. I know this isn’t the most comfortable meeting. I’ll keep it as short as I can. We had Peter moved from the nursing home. His former nurse should have turned in her transfer request by now. He’s still not waking up, but he’s not so pale. I don’t think it’ll be much longer before he’s healed.” 

Allison exhaled. “That’s good?” She said tentatively. “Um. Good that he’s been moved, and that his old nurse is transferring. Is he in a new nursing home now, or upstairs?” She asked, pointing at the spiral staircase.

Laura pointed upstairs, too. “He’s in his wheelchair. We’ve already ordered him a bed. It won’t be here until tomorrow.” 

“How are his vitals?” John asked quietly, studying Laura. “I know you said that he isn’t pale anymore, and that he still hasn’t woken up, but there should be other things. Heart rate and the like.”

“We can hear heartbeats.” Laura smiled, a little embarrassed. “You weren’t informed of that? His is pretty steady.” 

John cleared his throat. “Well, you know, I’ve… been a bit busy.” He sighed. “Anyway, that’s good.” He glanced at Allison.

Allison took his cue easily. “So, we’ve - I’ve discussed things with my parents, and they have no problem with your presence here, or with you creating your pack, as long as the newer members stay under control and don’t wreak havoc on Beacon Hills.”

Laura nodded. “They’ll be trained. Anything more? I don’t mean to be so short with either of you. Derek and I have to talk to our potential betas, find jobs for ourselves and buy some furniture.” 

Allison looked up at John expectantly.

John shook his head. “Nothing that I can think of right this minute. But we’ve got our contact information, and we can get ahold of each other if anything else comes up. Right?” He looked down at Allison, raising his eyebrows. “Sound good?”

Allison nodded, smiling faintly. “Sounds good.” She agreed, and then looked at Laura. 

Laura nodded back. “I’ll let you know if anything changes with Peter’s progress. Next time, this won’t be so awkward or brief.” She smiled. She had missed Beacon Hills, feeling like she was home when she got into town. Things hadn’t changed very much in the time she was gone, but now she was older and wouldn’t have to sneak into one of the bars or clubs downtown. Her plan was to start working for one of them, since she and Derek had both been employed at bars in New York City. She walked Allison and John to the door, closing it behind them. Upstairs, she could hear a slight change in Peter’s heartbeat. She turned toward the stairs and looked up at the railing along the second floor. “Uncle Peter?”


	16. A Place of Hope and No Pain

Stiles was halfway up the well-worn path in the rock when he started getting unbearably thirsty. He sat down and balanced the bottle on his knees, supporting it with one hand as he stared down at it and started talking to himself. “Okay. I practically made mountain ash with my bare hands. I still don’t know how, but I stabbed the nogitsune in my dream and got the upper hand, and he looked scared. It could’ve just been a dream. But maybe not? If my belief in something is what makes it successful, that could even mean that Scott pulls through because I refuse to believe otherwise. So something like water in a bottle can’t be that hard. It’s just hydrogen and oxygen. See, Harris, you asshole? I do pay attention.” He snorted to himself and glanced up at the sky, then untwisted the cap from the top of the bottle. He closed his eyes, imagining the sound of running water and picturing it filling the bottle. He knew that he couldn’t just create something out of thin air, but there was at least one drop of water in the bottom of the bottle. He changed tactics, thinking of that one drop of water expanding and replicating itself. The bottle grew heavier in his hand, but he didn’t dare open his eyes until it overflowed, spilling out over his fingers. 

“Good job, newcomer.” 

Stiles squinted up at the women surrounding him. After everything he had been through, he wasn’t all that surprised that they had appeared out of nowhere. “Thanks.” He raised the bottle to his lips cautiously, relieved when the water didn’t taste like poison or urine or any number of things that he had been afraid he was dealing with. 

“You seek answers?” The second woman spoke. “We can help you.” 

“For something in exchange.” The third of them smiled. “What have you brought us?” 

Stiles twisted the cap back onto the bottle of water and held it out to the third woman, who took it. “I don’t even know how I ended up here. I’m guessing it’s too much to ask that you have a gas station or a cell phone charger somewhere up there?” 

“He uses humor to mask his fear.” The first woman told her companions. 

“But we see through it.” The second spoke. “This is not a true question.” 

“We see through him. Even all of the broken pieces. Go on and ask your question. You only get one, and we will answer. But for more questions, you need to prove your worth.” 

“More freaking riddles?” Stiles muttered, faltering when he realized what he had done, asking a question he didn’t actually want an answer for. 

“We allow visitors to look within themselves for the answers they seek. We just give them motivation for the right questions.” 

“Okay, if this is some Mr. Miyagi fetish thing you three have going, that’s cool. I guess.” Stiles shrugged. “I need to get back to my Jeep. My girlfriend’s parents are coming to get me and I don’t want to be gone when they show up.” He stood up, but they blocked his path. 

“They arrived some time ago. You were focused so intently that you did not notice time passing.” 

“Oh my god.” Stiles groaned. “They’re seriously going to kill me for not being there. How long has it been?” He demanded. 

Instead of answering, one of the women hefted her spear and aimed a jab in his direction. 

Stiles caught the handle of the spear, near the blade. His worried expression became a determined one. He twisted at the waist, yanking the weapon away from the female warrior. “I said I don’t have time for this. Especially not now. If they’re here and looking for me, I need to get back down there to them.” He flung the weapon over the side of the cliff. “If you’re not going to get out of my way when I tell you I need to go, you can pick up your broken toys at the bottom of this Pride Rock thing.” 

“Not so broken, after all. Just in pieces.” 

“That’s what I just said!” Stiles snapped. 

“Not the spear. You. You’re untrained. You need assistance. We will provide.” 

“Yeah, yeah. For a fee. No thanks. I’m not here for you, anyway. I’m here for this.” Stiles’ eyes darkened and he lifted his hands, watching passively when lightning crackled as it struck the center of the topmost part of the cliff, then dragged itself across the rock and leaped down to his outstretched palms. He screamed at the pain and his vision whited out. When everything cleared, he was standing by the Jeep, clutching a long, jagged piece of rock in his hands. The sun was rising overhead, but he shivered from the cold. His hands looked a little bruised, and he wasn’t sure how he had gotten there or how he had survived lightning coursing through him. The answer was obvious, but he was still hoping that it was all a trick and had nothing to do with him. 

“Stiles?” Victoria waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. “We heard you scream and then you met us when we came to get you, at the bottom of the trail. You’ve been holding onto that and wouldn’t let us take it from you, and you weren’t responding to anything. We were a little worried that we’d have to put you down.” 

The way she said it so casually, Stiles knew that this was really Victoria Argent, not some conjured waking nightmare of her, courtesy of the nogitsune. “I just want to go home.” He murmured. 

“Good thing that's what we came here to do, then, isn't it?” Chris quipped, studying Stiles through narrowed eyes. “Are you alright?”

“I think so.” Stiles nodded. He looked down at the rock fragment again, relaxing his grip on it as he thought about dropping it. But he couldn’t bring himself to leave the thing behind. “Thank you both for coming out here and helping me. I know it wasn’t exactly a short drive. I thought... well. I’m sorry I wandered off.” 

Chris glanced at Victoria, and then put a hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “It's alright, son, not a problem at all. Let's just get you home now, alright? We brought some gas for the Jeep, we weren't sure what kind it took. Would you like one of us to sit in with you on the drive back? Allison said that you weren't sure how you got out here.”

“I’m not.” Stiles admitted. “And yeah, if that’s okay. I don’t know what’s happening. I think maybe time travel has messed with me. I don’t know. That’s probably not it, or it would be affecting Allison too, right?” 

“My guess would be that it has something to do with your particular situation.” Chris said after a moment, frowning.

“Right.” Stiles murmured, sighing. 

“I’ll follow you back.” Victoria called out, getting into the truck. She had studied a lot, once she knew that she was going to marry Chris. But she had never expected that one day, her daughter and potential son-in-law would be time-traveling. “It couldn’t possibly have been that she got pregnant. Or arrested. I would have handled those.” She muttered to herself, starting the engine. 

Chris carried the gas can back to Stiles’ Jeep and emptied it into the tank. “Got you something else I figured you might appreciate.” He added, and tossed a bound up car charger with a cord toward the younger man. “Wasn't sure what phone you had, so it's got two cords with it.”

Stiles smiled. “Thank you.” He got into the Jeep, plugging his cell phone into the charger. “So, where am I, anyway?” 

Chris tucked the gas can into the back, and then climbed into the other side of the Jeep. He turned his head to look at Stiles. “Shiprock. Gave us a bit of a start.”

Stiles rubbed his eyes. “Okay.” He didn’t feel like pointing out that Chris had only sort of answered his question. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept. He turned the Jeep around and drove forward. He had a thousand questions and didn’t want to ask Chris any of them. Even though things were different now, he still remembered this man as being the one all too comfortable with slamming him into a wall and threatening Scott’s life more than once. He knew that one wrong word would send Chris right back into that mindset. As soon as he got home, he was going to talk to Allison and then go ask the Hales for help. Getting Scott involved would put unnecessary stress on his best friend, and Stiles was still determined to keep everyone safe. 

Chris studied Stiles for a moment, narrowing his eyes a little. “Everything alright, kid?”

“Uh, maybe. Where exactly is Shiprock?” Stiles frowned. 

Chris paused for a brief moment, and then exhaled slowly. “New Mexico.” He said quietly. Looking at the younger man, he cleared his throat. “Like I said - you gave everyone a bit of a scare.” Tilting his head, he asked, “You really remember nothing about how you got here? Do you think it was the nogitsune?”

“I don’t think so.” Stiles shook his head. “I’m not sure what the cause is. I know a few people I can ask, though.” 

Chris furrowed his brow. “Do you want to head there, first? When we get back, I mean?”

“No, I’ll go on my own.” Stiles grimaced. He felt like an asshole for the way he was responding to Chris’ questions, knowing that Allison’s dad only wanted to help him. But he wanted to sort things out without the older man’s involvement. 

Chris smiled faintly, nodding. “Fair enough. I’d probably want to do this on my own, too.”

Stiles looked relieved. “Well, for all of our sakes, I hope you never have to.” 

“Maybe not this exact same thing, but there are several things I’ve had to do that would only have been accomplished properly if I did them by myself.” He looked over at Stiles. “So I have an idea about how you’re feeling. I get it. I know you aren’t trying to shut me out, kid.”

**

It was about two am on Tuesday by the time that Stiles got back to Beacon Hills with Chris and Victoria. The three of them had ended up alternating driving the entire way back, just to get home sooner. Stiles felt sick about having been gone so long, with everything else that was happening. 

Allison had been staying with the Sheriff out of both a paranoia of being alone and a desire to keep the older man company. She hadn’t been able to sleep and had been curled up on the couch, the television on, but on a low volume in front of her. The minute she saw the headlights flash through the front window and heard the Jeep and her father’s SUV turn into the driveway, she was up and running for the door. Throwing it open, she raced down the path leading from the house to the driveway, barely waiting for Stiles to be out of the Jeep before she threw herself at him.

Stiles smiled as he wrapped his arms around Allison. He had texted her when his phone was fully charged, but he hadn’t called because he wanted to talk in person about what she had said. He kept his voice low, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “You love me?” 

Allison huffed out a laugh, nuzzling against his chest and smiling softly. She nodded. “I love you.” She poked him in the stomach. 

“I love you, too.” Stiles grinned. “I know this is moving kind of fast, even with us knowing each other this long. But I don’t think I care. I have to talk to you about some things. Privately.” 

Allison smiled softly, nodding. “We can talk.” She murmured. “Your dad is at work, but he should be on his way home soon. He’s going to be over the moon when he sees you.” She went up on the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek. “Let’s go inside.” She turned, clutching his hand tightly, and then paused when she looked at her parents. Beaming widely at them, she ran toward them and threw her arms around them both. “Thank you so much.” She mumbled into her mother’s shoulder.

Victoria laughed. “Thank me by not getting pregnant. We’ll see you after school tomorrow. Today.” 

Allison’s cheeks turned red, but she laughed in embarrassment, nodding. “I promise I won’t get pregnant.” She told her mother, and then hugged her again before she pulled back and kissed her father’s cheek. “Thank you both. Again.” She said before she went back to Stiles’ side.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, thanks.” He murmured, putting an arm around Allison’s waist. He took a few steps back, toward the door, pulling her with him. 

Allison giggled softly, tucking herself against Stiles’ side, willingly following him back into the house. She pressed a kiss to his shoulder absently.

Stiles turned toward Allison when they were in the house with the door closed. He stared at her for a long moment, then spoke. “I’m trying to decide if I want to take you upstairs for sex, or to sleep, or if I want to talk about what happened. I mean, I could multitask...” 

Allison ducked her head, laughing softly. “Maybe we can talk first?” She suggested, taking his hands. “Or we can sleep. You’ve got to be exhausted. And I asked your dad if it was possible if he could call you off of school for the rest of the week.” She snorted. “He said he’d think about it.”

“At least one more day.” Stiles smiled. “Go on up. I’m going back out to the Jeep for something that I want to show you.” 

Allison nodded, smiling back at him. “Okay. Don’t be too long.” She touched his face gently, and then turned to head up to his bedroom.

Stiles went back outside, returning with the rock fragment. He carried it up to his room and sat down on his bed, holding it out to Allison as he watched her, silent and gauging her reaction. 

Allison took the rock fragment in confusion, sitting up on the bed and tucking her feet underneath her. She turned it over silently, and then cleared her throat. “... I don’t know what I’m looking at.” She blurted, blinking at Stiles.

“Um. I think it’s a tail.” Stiles said quietly. “Like, mine? Like I have one. I don’t know. I should have stayed where I was, in the Jeep. I didn’t. I started climbing this mountain. If you can even call it that, it’s a cliff in the middle of the desert. Like it doesn’t even belong there. These women were trying to stab me for asking them a question. I don’t know. I kind of pulled a lightning bolt to me. And then I was by my Jeep. Your parents said they caught up to me at the bottom of the incline path... thing. And that I wasn’t responding to them until we got back to the Jeep.” 

Allison’s mouth slowly dropped the more he explained, her eyes slowly widening. “You think… you think this is a tail. Like… one that belongs to - to a kitsune?” She asked softly. She inhaled sharply, and then said, “You think you’re becoming a fox spirit. Like Kira, like her mother?” She swallowed. “Like…”

Stiles nodded. “I was going to throw it back down before I got in the Jeep, after I snapped out of whatever trance I was in. But I feel like I can’t. Like I need to keep it.” He exhaled, frowning. “The thing is? I’ve always liked playing tricks on people. Like, the day I met Scott, we were four. I peed on his sand castle. I don’t remember a time that I wasn’t pranking someone or messing with them just to fuck them up a little. What if... what if all along, this is where I was headed? Or - I don’t know. I mean, Peter offered me the bite once. Like, actually offered it and shrugged it off when I said I didn’t want it. I’ve just kind of... I don’t feel like I should get it. I could have. I’ve had a lot of opportunities. A lot of reasons. But it just makes me feel sick. And if I’m already... this?” He held the tail up. “Then maybe deep down, I knew all along.” 

Allison lifted a hand and ran it gently down his arm, stroking soothingly. “But there’s a difference, I think.” She said softly. “The nogitsune we know - what we know about him, from what Kira’s mom told us - they aren’t just about chaos, Stiles. The pranks you pulled, messing with people - that’s child’s play to a nogitsune. Remember? They get their power from strife, chaos, tragedy and pain. They feed off of _pain_. Kira’s mom summoned him for revenge, and he all but said ‘fuck you’ and razed the whole town down, literally just so he could see the world burn. It’s evil - pure evil.” She looked up at him. “You’re not evil, Stiles. You come from a different headspace than _he_ does. You fight for survival, you would kill to keep the people you love safe. You have morals, you have empathy, you don’t kill for the sake of killing or because you like it.” She twisted her fingers around his hand, and smiled crookedly, one side of her mouth turned up. “If anything, I’d say… if you really _are_ a fox spirit, you’re a cross between a kitsune and a nogitsune. You’re an anti-hero.” She thought for a moment, and then beamed at him. “You’re like the Punisher. Or Deadpool. Except, you know, less with the insanity and the breaking of a fourth wall that no one else can see.”

Stiles’ gaze softened. “You’ve listened to me rant about comics, haven’t you? Actually listened, not just pretended to.” 

Allison looked down, blushing shyly, and she shrugged one shoulder. “You made it sound interesting. And you liked it for a reason - the stories, the action… Comic books are just another form of fiction, they just hold art to go along with the words. They’re just as good as regular books.”

Stiles set the tail aside and leaned toward Allison to kiss her. “You’ve never made me feel bad for being who I am. Not through any of it. That’s why I love you.” 

Allison kissed him back softly, winding an arm around him. “I love you.” She told him, putting a hand on his chest and lightly tracing the neck of his shirt, her fingers tugging at the flannel shirt lightly. “And… that’s how I’ve always known to love, to accept people. You shouldn’t feel bad about who you are because there’s nothing _wrong_ with who you are. You’re amazing, Stiles.” She settled her head against his shoulder, hugging him gently. “You’re the best person I know. You see the gray spots, you’re kind of judgy, but you do it with reason, because sometimes you kind of have to be; you’re brave, and you listen, and you do what’s necessary, even when other people try to give you grief about it. I don’t know how many times you’ve seen what everyone else hasn’t, and how many times you’ve turned out to be right.”

Stiles laid back on the bed, tugging Allison down with him. “I don’t have all the answers all the time, though.” He turned his head to look at her. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. When Scott was dealing with being a werewolf, I was researching everything and coming up with solutions. But if I pursue this instead of just ignoring it, then it’s real. And I don’t know if I want that. I don’t think it would necessarily be a good thing, me having the ability to actually screw with someone’s mind. I think I’d like it too much. I’m starting to wonder if that nightmare was a nightmare at all. Maybe the nogitsune was trying to actually train me. I don’t see how choking me or making me choke you helped that cause, though. But it made me go off on my own and get that.” He pointed at the tail. “So maybe there’s a lot more to this.” 

Allison rested her head on the pillow, studying his face. “Maybe… Maybe you are meant to get training. Maybe he’s the one trying to do it, but what if he’s trying to usurp the position? What if it’s someone else who’s supposed to be training you?” She fell silent, faltering. “Only, I don’t know who it would be. If it’s supposed to be the Yukimuras, we’re months too early for this. I think they’re still in New York at this point.”

“Yeah, probably. Wanna worry about it later?” Stiles smiled. “I didn’t see you for two days. I have to make up for that.” 

“Hmm, yeah, you do.” Allison murmured, smiling back at him. She paused, studying him. “Unless you’re going to kiss me and then tell me that maybe we should still stay apart because of whatever the nogitsune’s fascination is with the two of us.” She said, faltering a little and looking uncertain.

“No. I thought about it on the drive back. The eighteen hours I was stuck with your dad. I slept when I could, but mostly, I just wanted to see you. I’m not giving you up just because of one nightmare. If his plan is to train me, we’re doing it how I want to do it. He leaves you alone or I swear I’ll actually find a way to kill him. I might do that anyway, I don’t know. But I’m not an idiot. I treated you like crap, whatever my reasons were, and you love me anyway. So I won’t fuck up like that again. Losing you would be the worst thing for me.” Stiles laced his fingers with Allison’s. “And maybe I’m saying it wrong, maybe I sound selfish? I’ve never actually had a relationship before. You’re going to have to tell me if I’m screwing up. I’ll fix it.” 

Allison shook her head, laughing softly as she leaned forward to kiss him. “Trust me, I’ll let you know.” She teased him, and pressed her forehead gently against his. “You didn’t treat me like crap. I know why you did it. I understand. I don’t ever want to go through that again, but I get it.” She nuzzled against him, pressing another kiss to his chin. “I love you.”

“I love you.” Stiles repeated, smiling. 

“Okay, see, now you’re screwing up.” Allison teased him. “You’re supposed to wrap me in your arms and declare your love to me forever and always. And cry a little.” Her lips twitched from holding back her laughter.

“Allison, if you’re going to fuck with me, you should at least take off your clothes first.” Stiles laughed. 

“Please, like I’d take away something you enjoy doing so much.” Allison laughed as well, wrapping her arms around him and rolling until she was on her back, tugging him above her.

Stiles’ smile turned devious and he rested his weight on his hands, moving backward on the bed as he maintained eye contact with Allison. 

Allison watched him in confusion for a moment before it clicked, and her lips parted. Her eyes darkened, and she licked her lips eagerly, sitting back a little as she kept her eyes locked with Stiles’.

Stiles tugged at the waistband of the sweatpants that Allison was wearing. They were the same pair he had loaned her before, and the fact that she seemed to have claimed them as her own made him smile. He pulled the pants, along with her underwear, down to her calves. 

Allison drew her legs up, kicking at the pants and underwear until they were hanging off the side of the bed, the pants still attached to one ankle. She swallowed, and slid her free leg down the bed, playfully nudging her toes against Stiles’ hip.

Stiles laughed and stretched out on his stomach on the bed, pushing Allison’s thighs further apart. He slid a finger inside her, his gaze shifting to her face so that he could watch how she was reacting to him. 

Allison shivered, letting out a soft whine in her throat. Her breath escaped her chest, and she wiggled down closer to him, spreading her legs farther apart.

Stiles pressed soft kisses to the skin of Allison’s thighs, his eyes closing as he turned his head and closed his lips over the skin above his hand. He sucked roughly at first, then eased up as he pressed a second finger inside her. 

Allison’s hips jerked, and she let out a yelp, her head slumping back against the pillows. She arched up, trying to get closer to Stiles’ mouth. “More.” She whimpered.

“More what?” Stiles asked innocently, his lips twitching as he lifted his head to look at Allison. “Tell me.” 

“Your mouth.” Allison scowled at him, fidgeting. “Stiles, I want more of your mouth.”

Stiles nodded to her and lowered his head again, gripping Allison’s hips and holding them down. He pushed into her with his tongue, groaning. 

Allison inhaled sharply and let out a soft cry, her hands flailing a little before reaching for Stiles and threading through his hair. She tugged him closer, thrusting up against his mouth.

Stiles moved with her. He hadn’t done this before, but he had always wanted to. He had practiced on a number of embarrassing objects that he would never admit to using, but it seemed to have paid off, judging by Allison’s reaction. Her hands on his scalp felt good, and he resolved to start growing his hair out sooner this time around.

Allison panted softly, her entire body following along with the rolling of her hips. “Oh, god, Stiles,” she groaned out softly, riding his mouth faster and locking her legs around him. She shuddered, her mouth hanging open in awe.

Stiles pulled away once more, dragging the back of his hand across his mouth. He looked up at her again. “I should’ve done this sooner.” He teased. “Just invited you over when I saw you at the bookstore, before I knew that you were actually you and not earlier you or an alternate you.” 

Allison flopped backward, giggling. “You’d have just randomly approached an Allison that wasn’t yours?” She laughed. “‘Excuse me, you look incredibly familiar. I’m sorry, you’re not who I thought. By the way, can I give you head?’” She made grabby fingers, reaching for him eagerly.

Stiles moved back up to lay beside her. “Well, I’m not blind. I thought you were hot from day one.” He admitted. “It’s just that you didn’t see me. And that’s okay. I wouldn’t have made a move, even if you did notice me. Scott wanted you.” 

Allison made a small noise in her throat, turning to curl against him. “I think Scott only wanted me because he could - well, smell me.” She shrugged. “As a new werewolf, I mean. That’s what makes me think the werewolf thing had such a difference, because here, now, he barely looked at me twice.” She paused, and smiled. “More Allison for you, though.”

“Not more.” Stiles smiled. “All. All mine, I mean.” He kissed her. “Sleep. I’ll make you breakfast in the morning and we’ll spend the day trying to make absolutely sure that I’m not going to become psychotic. I probably need to talk to Deaton. That’s not going to be the most fun conversation. It’s like talking to a magic eight ball, every single time.” 

Allison giggled softly. “‘Answer is cloudy; ask again later.’” She kissed him back lightly, curling against him and yawning. “We should really check in with Laura and Derek, too. Maybe there's a Deaton-to-English translation guide that only they know.”

“Maybe we should make Lydia handle it. She’s a polyglot. We need Deaton-to-werewolf-to-Lydia-to-English. This is going to suck.”

Allison let out another sleepy laugh, burrowing against the pillow and Stiles. “Sounds about right.” She yawned, rubbing at her eyes.


	17. The First Objective

Stiles woke up a few hours later and rushed through taking a shower and brushing his teeth before he went looking for his dad. He hadn’t seen him since Saturday afternoon and it was Tuesday. “Hey!” 

John looked up, and immediately stood from his chair, making his way over to Stiles. He wrapped the younger man into a tight hug, solidly patting him on the back and exhaling heavily. “Jesus, kid. Way to take a couple of years off my life.” He murmured, and then pulled back to study his son. “You okay? Everything alright?”

“I’m back and I still have all of my internal organs.” Stiles remarked, smiling. “Um, but it kind of depends on your definition of ‘alright.’” 

“Oh, I love hearing those sort of exceptions.” John sighed, pulling away. “Alright. Tell me what I need to brace myself for, kiddo.” He sat down, patting the couch beside him.

Stiles sat down. “Okay. I haven’t wanted to tell you this, but there was this point where someone took you, Scott’s mom and Allison’s dad. She was going to sacrifice you guys. Instead, the three of us sacrificed ourselves. Temporarily. Like I _needed_ to include that word? But yeah. The thing is, it made all three of us a little bit messed up. Scott couldn’t control his shifting, Allison was hallucinating dead relatives, and I got possessed by a demonic fox spirit.” He stared at his dad, letting that sink in. 

John stared at Stiles, and after a moment, his mouth began opening and closing in confusion. “... Demonic fox spirit?” He blurted. “How - what? What the hell is it, why did it pick you?”

“It’s called a nogitsune. And we all kind of thought that it picked me because I was the weakest, or because nobody would want to hurt me to stop him. Or both? But after the last few days, I’m thinking it picked me because... can I see your phone?” Stiles squinted, biting his lip as he tried to think of a way to make his explanation make sense. 

John blinked at Stiles, but carefully pulled out his cell phone and handed it over to his son. “Go ahead.” He murmured.

“Okay.” Stiles took the case off of the phone. “See, this fits your phone, but it wouldn’t fit mine.” He put them back together. “So I think it was maybe like that. Like the nogitsune picked me because I made the most sense. I’ve always played pranks and twisted everybody’s words around. And that’s what he does, but on a more malicious level.” 

“So… He’s a sadistic bastard?” John asked slowly, raising his eyebrows at Stiles curiously. He took the phone back, studying it carefully for a moment. “It picked you because you’re a cheeky little shit, and it does the same thing, but more extreme, more malevolent?” He furrowed his brows, shaking his head. “I guess I just don’t see it. You’re a good kid. Regardless of how much you drive me nuts, I mean, you’re a genius kid, you take care of me, and I know you like your pranks, but… I don’t see how it could narrow in on you and just… take over.” 

“To review?” Stiles began. “I convinced Scott to go looking for a bisected corpse in the woods. I hit him with lacrosse balls to make him learn to control his anger. I stole the transport van at one point and kidnapped Jackson Whittemore. In my defense, I was trying to keep him from murdering people. But I ended up with a restraining order against me. You told Scott’s dad at one point that you haven’t trusted me since I learned to talk, so... it’s not like there’s not a precedent for this.” 

John paused, frowning deeply. “Odd, considering I wouldn’t even trust Scott’s dad with taking care of a cactus.” He shook his head, sighing. “Look, I know you can be a troublemaker, and I know you can be vengeful when you get pissed, and god knows you’ve made me want to bash my head against a wall half a dozen times when I tell you to stay somewhere and then find out that you’re about a half a mile away, doing exactly what I didn’t want you to do, but that’s all minimal shit, Stiles. That doesn’t set the precedent for why in god’s name a demonic, murdering entity would look at you twice and pounce on you to be its host.” He scratched his chin for a moment, and then exhaled softly. “But… okay. So… what did this fox spirit thing want, by possessing you? What did it do? How does it pertain to you?”

“I’m not really sure what the endgame was.” Stiles admitted. “He manipulated me into letting him take control of me, and then I was kind of locked in my own head. Anyway, that’s all... past stuff that hasn’t even happened now, or yet? Kitsunes have tails. And I got one while I was gone.” 

John opened his mouth again to comment, and then paused, looking around Stiles. “Okay, so not a physical one?”

“What? Oh.” Stiles laughed. “Yes, but not that kind of tail. It’s sort of like... a memento from a significant moment, I think? At least, that’s how I understood it when it was explained to me. Indirectly. I have it upstairs. It’s from this rock formation in New Mexico. Apparently, I can sleep drive, now.” 

John rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Yeah, we’re going to have to do something about that.” He looked up at his son, his lips twitching. “I might have to tie you down to your bed, kid.”

Stiles’ lips twitched and he shook his head. “I won’t say what I was going to say about that. I don’t need to be grounded until I’m eighty.” 

“Yep.” John nodded in agreement. He put his head in his hands and started laughing. “Jesus christ, I thought all I’d have to worry about when you hit your teens was rampant video games, you being girl-crazy, hormones out the ass and a refusal to clean up your damn room, not… werewolves and demon foxes and hunting and murders that went unsolved for just over half a decade.”

“Hey, I’m trying to fix at least half of that stuff.” Stiles shrugged. “I never had to deal with this, last time. Well, not like this, anyway. It’s weird to think that it was only about a month ago that I was possessed, and at the same time? It hasn’t happened yet.” 

“Let’s make sure we keep it that way, huh?” John suggested, patting Stiles’ shoulder. “No sacrifice this time. We’ll work on this, alright? Temporarily or not, no sacrifice. We’ll figure out a way to keep myself, Melissa and Chris out of the hot seat.”

“Well, I’m already working on that. I think it might involve murder, though. I know it sucks that I’m saying it so casually. Trust me, I wouldn’t have been like this, before. Too much has happened.” Stiles rested his hands on his knees. “The stuff that happened, the stuff that leads to you getting taken? That was when I was too young to have done anything to stop it. Some kind of weird... werewolf turf war thing. I don’t think there’s any other way around it, to stop her.” He glanced toward the stairs. “I promised I’d make Allison breakfast and it’s almost noon, so I kind of need to get started.” 

John raised his eyebrows, glancing toward the stairs as well. “Alright.” He said after a moment, debating whether or not he should say something about Allison obviously being upstairs. “Do I get breakfast, too?” He smiled faintly.

“Yeah, I guess.” Stiles laughed and went into the kitchen. He started mixing batter for pancakes, lost in thought about Allison, the nogitsune, and what he wanted to do next. 

John followed him, leaning against the doorway with his arms folded over his chest. He watched Stiles for a moment, and then scratched lightly at his chin. “You know… whatever you need, if you need help, if you need… anything, Stiles, I’ll be there. You can bounce ideas off of me, or anything.”

“I think the nogitsune wants to train me.” Stiles blurted, looking up at his dad. “And I’m starting to think that might not be the worst thing. I mean, if this is what I am, or what I’m becoming... it’s not like there’s an abundance of these kinds of creatures. Beings? I think as long as I do what I can to stay in control, it won’t be too bad. It’s better than waking up and realizing I drove for eighteen hours and have no memory of it.” 

John frowned. “Well, yeah, I’d say that’s definitely preferable. But I don’t know how much I’d trust this bastard to train you, if that’s what he’s trying to do.” He studied Stiles in concern. “If this - being a fox spirit thing - if that’s what you are, then… I don’t see anything wrong with that. Your mom always thought you were special. I don’t think she realized quite how special, but…” He trailed off and shrugged. “I just don’t know that I could be okay with this nogitsune wanting to be the one to train you.”

“I’ll give it more thought.” Stiles murmured. “Can you keep an eye on this pancake? I’ll be right back.” He ran upstairs without giving his dad much choice, kneeling beside his bed and shaking Allison’s shoulder. “Hey, wake up.” 

Allison jerked upwards, blinking widely. “Huh? I’m up. I’m up. What’s going on?” She looked at Stiles, wide-eyed.

Stiles smiled and leaned toward Allison to kiss her. “Come downstairs. I’m making breakfast. I told my dad where I was. I have some ideas, but it can wait until after you eat.” He wrapped one hand around hers. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but if someone had told me that your parents are actually kind of awesome, I would have told them they were full of shit.” 

Allison snorted, but shut her eyes briefly and leaned against his shoulder for a moment, sighing and smiling. “My parents were always kind of awesome.” She sighed. “They just… didn’t make the best impressions, I think, the first time around. Actually, I’m fairly certain they didn’t.” She huffed a laugh. “But I’m glad you like them.” Sitting up, she slid off of the bed and gave him a kiss. “Okay, I’m starving. Let’s go downstairs.”

**

After he ate, Stiles sent a text to Scott. ‘How have you been?’ He felt a little guilty that he hadn’t spent nearly as much time with his best friend as he probably should have. He promised himself that he would make up for it now. 

Scott texted back immediately. ‘Dude! Hey, I’m good. How’ve you been? What’s been going on?’

‘I’m okay. New developments. Not sure how I feel about them yet. Come over after school?’ Stiles glanced at Allison, then sent Scott a second text. ‘Bring Lydia.’ 

‘Sure thing.’ Scott replied. ‘Want me to bring food, too?’

Stiles laughed. ‘No, you don’t have to do that. Just come over.’ 

‘Alright. We’ll be over soon. See you in a bit, bro.’ Scott ended the message with a smiley face.

Stiles started to set his phone aside, but started a similar conversation with Erica, instead. He told her to bring Boyd, then set his phone down again and looked up at Allison. “It’s kind of weird, being half of a couple.” He remarked, smiling faintly. “Because now instead of just hanging out with Scott, I want to hang out with you and Scott, and Lydia. And Erica and Boyd. And I’m trying to figure out if Isaac and Danny would be cute together. But probably not.” 

Allison grinned around her fork, licking the last of the syrup off of it. “Maybe, but maybe not.” She agreed, nodding. She sighed a moment later, smiling softly. “It’s different with you than it ever was with Scott. With him, I think we sort of had to be forced to hang out with everyone else. Unless it was life-threatening, and then we all just seemed to fall together anyway.” Turning toward Stiles, she moved off of her chair and sat down on his knee, leaning against him. “It’s not like that with you.”

Stiles wrapped his arms around Allison’s waist. “Well, part of that is because I’m trying to keep us all together. Like a big group instead of everybody being scattered. It’s all I want us to be after we graduate, too. Which is even further away now. What the hell were we thinking?” He laughed. “I don’t want Jackson left out of this. Or Danny, or Isaac. But the three of them don’t want to be involved. They don’t know why this is a big deal to the rest of us, I guess. But I can’t exactly go up to Jackson, you know, and tell him he needs friends so that he won’t become a giant lizard.” 

Allison rested her head against the top of his, winding her arms around his neck. “We’ll convince them somehow. Even if Jackson still ends up in England, or… or Danny ends up transferring to another school or - god, Isaac ends up as a freaking gigolo or something in Florida…” She trailed off, unable to keep herself from giggling at the thought. “We won’t let anything bad happen to them, Stiles. It’s up to us. Maybe they don’t get it now, but that’ll change. It will, I know it will.”

“I love you.” Stiles lifted his head to kiss her. “Now I have to tell you something that you won’t like. Again. I should just set a time of day for this kind of thing, by now. ‘Two o’clock? What the fuck did you do now, Stiles?’” He took a deep breath. “What if I let the nogitsune train me? My dad doesn’t like the idea, but he doesn’t know what we’ve done before. That we’ve worked with Peter when we had to. When he was off the deep end.” 

Allison grimaced. “We need to check in on him, by the way.” She murmured. “And… as evil as Peter is, I’m not actually sure that he’s as evil as the nogitsune.” She looked at her boyfriend from her perch in his lap. “We need a name for him.” Rubbing at her eyes briefly with one hand, she thought for a long moment, and then said, “I don’t trust him. Not around you. He tried to corrupt you before. But…” She chewed on her lower lip. “If you’re serious about this, I’ll, um… I’ll back you up on it. I just… I don’t know, I want you to be safe, you know?” 

“I know.” Stiles nodded. “Maybe I should just call Laura?” He mused. “I feel bad that I haven’t heard from her. I’ve been trying to check in with everyone and then I lost track of time - and myself. Scott from our original timeline would be so freaking disappointed in me right now.” 

Allison rubbed a hand over Stiles’ back. “I’m sure she’s fine, Stiles.” She murmured softly, though she did furrow her brows worriedly. “I told her I would call her every day with an update or just to keep contact, but that was the day you ended up in New Mexico. I texted her a few times, but I didn’t really get a response.” She paused. “I wasn’t really expecting one, but still.” She took a deep breath, and then nodded. “Let’s call her. Actually, let’s go to the loft and check in on her and Derek.” She paled. “Oh god. I forgot to tell you that they pulled Peter out of the nursing home. He’s at the loft with them.” She was up and out of Stiles’ lap, waving at him frantically. “We have to go. We have to go now. What if he’s awake?”

Stiles nearly dropped his phone in his haste to call Derek as he put his shoes on. “I really hope you’re better with answering your phone here than you were before.” He muttered. “Failwolf.” 

“What?” Derek’s voice snapped over the line. “Stiles? What do you want?”

Stiles scowled at his phone. “Okay? I was calling to see if Laura’s all right. And you, but you answered the phone in your usual grouchy way. Good for you.” He put a hand on Allison’s shoulder. “Derek’s okay and sounds like he has the usual stick up his ass, so I think that means Laura’s not dead.” 

Allison put a hand to her heart and let out a relieved breath, exhaling. “Oh, thank god.”

“Why would you think Laura’s dead?” Derek frowned on his end of the line.

“Um, duh? Because we told you guys a few days ago that she died before?” Stiles reminded Derek. “And that Peter killed her? So since we hadn’t heard from either of you, we assumed the worst. It’s kind of what we do now.” 

Derek snorted. “Don’t assume the worst. She’s fine. I came home about two hours after your father and Allison were at the loft, and Peter was wrapped up in duct tape and tied to the spiral staircase with his entire face bleeding. I guess he woke up and tried to attack Laura, but she heard him coming down.”

“You left her alone for _two hours_?” Stiles blurted. He smiled as the rest of Derek’s words registered. “I kind of wish I had seen that happen, actually. But why were you gone for two hours?” 

Derek grumbled softly, and then sighed. “I went to go grab your friends. The potential betas, I mean.” He went silent for a moment, and then said softly, “Laura _is_ an Alpha, Stiles. I understand that… circumstances were different in the other timeline, but you gave her a head’s up this time around. And she’s stronger than anyone else I’ve ever known. You gave her a chance to fight back.”

Stiles fist-pumped and grinned at Allison. “Awesome. Okay, so you picked them up and they came to the loft and saw Peter looking like he got his ass kicked? And then what?” 

Derek’s lips twitched faintly. “Well. He’s been tied up in the living room for the last few days under lock and key and iron chains with a padlock the size of my head. And…” He exhaled. “He’s been undergoing extensive pack bonding with myself, Laura, Erica, Boyd and Isaac. So far, it hasn’t been… terrible. A little chaotic, but that’s - Laura’s never turned anyone before. So we’re pretty much doing this and flying blind as we do.”

“Wait, what about Scott?” Stiles frowned. “I mean, good that you got the others. But what happened?” 

Derek shrugged, before remembering that Stiles couldn’t see him. “He came along, but he said he wanted to talk to you some more first, before he went ahead and did it.” Pausing, he added, “I think the biting aspect freaked him out a little bit, honestly.”

“Yeah, that’s no different from before.” Stiles nodded. “Okay. I’m having him come over today. Maybe I can talk him into it. Thanks. And I’m glad Laura’s okay. And you, too.” 

“I’ll pass the message on.” Derek replied, smiling faintly. “Stiles - really. Thank you. Giving us that head’s up - you saved my sister’s life. She’s been on high alert since we came back to Beacon Hills, and if it wasn’t for what you told us… she might not have been prepared enough to stop Peter at all.”

Stiles cleared his throat. “Well, I didn’t want to waste this opportunity, you know? You’re welcome, though. That sounds kind of weird to say. But yeah, I figured you deserved to have her safe. What are you going to do with Peter?” 

“Rehab.” Derek said simply. “Like I said, in depth pack bonding. He’s going to be immersed in nothing but pack until… until he’s fixed, I guess.”

“Did you find Malia yet?” Stiles took a deep breath. “Nevermind. I’ll help with that. Maybe tonight, after I talk to Scott. But we’ll be over at some point in the next couple of days.” 

“That sounds fine.” Derek replied. “It’ll give us some time to hopefully get Peter settled properly, and the rest of the betas.”

Stiles said goodbye and hung up, then took his shoes off and laid down on the couch. “Come here. That was exhausting.” He gestured to Allison. 

Allison smiled, toeing her own shoes off before she crawled onto the couch, settling above him. She lifted her head and kissed his chin. “Maybe, but it was amazing, too. We made a difference, Stiles.”

“Yeah.” Stiles smiled. “We just freaking saved Laura Hale.”


	18. Mój poduszkowiec jest pełen węgorzy

Stiles took down some of the papers pinned to his wall. He tore them into shreds and threw them away, grinning to himself. He was still happy that Laura was alive and safe. He had to convince Scott to receive the bite, but he was weighing the pros and cons of his best friend waiting until January second, just to keep things a little more consistent with how they had gone, before. He grabbed a blank sheet of paper and started making a list: ‘Convince Scott to get the bite on January 2, 2011. Find Malia. Find Cora. Make Jackson be my friend again.’ He gagged in exaggeration as he finished writing that particular item, knowing it wouldn’t be very easy. ‘Find out who the nogitsune is.’ He pinned the list to the wall. It wasn’t everything, but it was enough for now. After a moment of staring at the blank part of the paper, he wrote one more thing. ‘Find out what I am.’ 

“Stiles!” Allison called up the stairs a second later. “Lydia and Scott are here!”

“Come down, bro, we have things we need to discuss!” Scott called up as well, sounding as though he were grinning. 

Stiles laughed as he ran down the stairs and hugged Scott. He pulled back, then reached up to playfully smack his best friend. “What the hell, Scott? I told you. ‘Get the bite, the asthma goes away and you basically become a king.’”

Scott made a face, smacking Stiles back lightly. “I like the idea of not having asthma anymore, but I don't want to be a king, dude. Lydia didn't want to date me because I suddenly became popular and badass, you know? And I'm good with that.” He fidgeted a little bit. “Besides, the biting thing kind of… made me a little squicky, you know?” He shuddered. “Isn't there any way else they can do it? Can't they just point to me and be like, ‘you _are_ the next werewolf, goodbye’, and then - like, I'd be one but without the biting? Just like that?”

“It doesn't work that way.” Stiles smiled. “Besides, the pain from the bite doesn’t last long. We could maybe even get Laura to numb the area, first.” He looked at Allison, pointing to Scott. “This, okay? This is the same guy who voluntarily let someone stab him with a motorized needle. And paid him for it.”

“You have a tattoo?” Lydia asked, approaching Scott with an intrigued look on her face. 

“Oh. He doesn't yet.” Stiles corrected. “But he will.”

Allison covered her mouth with one hand, snorting.

Scott blinked. “I will? Is it awesome?” He asked hopefully. “Did I get it before or after the bitey thing?”

“Yes, you will. No, it sucks. A lot. I hate it.” Stiles grinned. “You got it after the bite.” 

Scott looked bewildered. “Why would I get a tattoo that sucks?” He inhaled, panicking. “Oh, god, was I drunk when I did it? Stiles, I can barely handle a wine cooler, don’t let me drink and get a tattoo!”

“No, that wasn’t it.” Stiles shook his head. “Besides, you’re underage for both of those things and nobody is going to give you a tattoo while you’re underage and drunk. That’s just a lawsuit waiting to happen. You decided on this particular design and the guy that did it kind of thought you were weird, but he did it anyway. I’m not telling you what it is. You liked it, though. I didn’t.” 

Scott grumbled under his breath. “Fine, don’t tell me.” He sulked.

“Aw, Scott, don’t pout. It’ll be alright.” Allison told him, laughing.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it means something to you.” Lydia smiled at her boyfriend. “Because the idea of you getting something without putting much thought into it just doesn’t sound like something you would do.” 

Scott looked up at Lydia, and smiled softly. “Thank you.” He murmured, leaning forward to kiss her lightly.

“You’re welcome.” Lydia turned toward Allison. “I need to talk to you about what you told me yesterday.” She tilted her head toward the kitchen. “Come on.” 

Allison nodded and stood. She passed by Stiles and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before pulling away and smiling. She went into the kitchen and hoisted herself up onto the counter, swinging her legs.

Lydia laughed and leaned against the counter, looking up at Allison. “Have you told him yet that your parents expect the two of you to get married?” 

Allison waved her hands at Lydia. “Shh! No. Nope. I haven’t said a word yet. I have no idea how he’d take it.” She covered her face, letting out a soft, high-pitched laugh. “God. We literally just said we loved each other, how would I even begin to… Would I just walk up to him and be like, ‘Hey, I’m so glad we’re dating, by the way, we’re betrothed as per my family’s traditions, love you, bye’?”

“You have to tell him at some point. Preferably before the day of your wedding.” Lydia smiled. “I don’t know that I would appreciate this, if my parents decided to arrange a marriage for me. But the two of you liked each other before your parents decided you should just make it permanent, didn’t you? What happened before you came back here? What are things going to be like?” 

Allison’s smile faltered a little, and she looked down. “Bad. Really bad.” She said softly. “Before I came back… My family knew nothing about what Kate had done. My parents hated that I had been dating Scott. My mom tried to poison him. My dad threatened him with shotguns and knives. There were a ton of misunderstandings.” She looked up at Lydia. “You and Scott kissed while we were together, and while you were dating Jackson. Stiles had had the biggest crush on you for years, and he was really hurt when he found out. And Jackson - god, he found out about Scott being a werewolf, and he wouldn’t leave it be until he got bitten, too, but he ended up becoming this horrible… venomous snake lizard thing, and he ended up under my grandfather’s control, and that was just horrible for everyone.” She stopped, looking down. “And when my mom tried to kill Scott, Derek burst in to save him. She turned to attack him, too, and he bit her, I guess, to defend himself. But he was the alpha at the time, and his bite started to turn her. So she killed herself. And then my grandfather got control of me.” She blew out a slow breath. “There’s more to it than that, there is. But so much happened, and there’s so much of it in my head that wants to come pouring out but I’m trying so hard to keep it all together.” She cleared her throat. “At one point, a woman kidnapped our parents - my dad, Scott’s mother, and Stiles’ dad - and we sacrificed ourselves to find them. And doing it screwed us up, but it - it left Stiles vulnerable to a spirit called a nogitsune. That was… that was who we were up against, right before we came back in time. Stiles was collapsing, his life was draining out of him, and I had been stabbed in the back, literally. We both made a wish to do everything over, to try and get it right, and then…” She shrugged a helpless shoulder. “And then we were here. Or, Stiles was here. I was in San Francisco, and it was a year in the past.”

Lydia tugged at the end of her braid as she stared at Allison. “I was asking you what happened with you and Stiles. Not anything you just told me.” She feigned boredom, trying not to think about the fact that her ex-boyfriend was going to turn into an actual monster or that her best friend had sacrificed herself, but she shuddered. “I don’t want to hear any of the rest of it.” 

Allison grimaced. “Sorry.” She murmured, shaking her head. “But there was nothing between me and Stiles. Nothing happened. He only told me here, now, that he used to wonder about the two of us together, but he would never have done anything because of Scott’s interest in me then.”

Lydia scoffed. “Boring.” She remarked. “Except that you both got to come back here and start over together. What happens if you just cycle through a third time, though?” 

Allison stared at her, blinking nervously. “I don’t… I don’t know.” She said softly. “I never thought about it.”

“Well, you’ve been at this for about two or three weeks now.” Lydia pointed out. “I don’t think it would be fair to expect you to look at it from every angle. Is there a day that’s important to you and Stiles?” 

Allison paused, furrowing her brows uncertainly. “Um… the day we got together, maybe?”

“So just recently?” Lydia nodded, thinking. “A winter wedding might be pretty. And if your parents are paying for it, they can have it wherever you want, too.” 

Allison smiled faintly. “I didn’t think it meant that we were going to get married right away. We’re - we weren’t even eighteen yet before we came back, and we definitely weren’t out of high school. We’re even younger now. I think my mother would probably want us to wait until we’re in our twenties. Maybe.” She ducked her head and her smile widened. “But a winter wedding sounds lovely.”

“Allison.” Lydia stared at the brunette. “You should really focus on what people are saying, not just what you think you heard. Unless you know of a way to rewind time to the day you started dating Stiles and marry him that afternoon, _obviously_ you have to wait until the anniversary of that day.” 

Allison clasped her hands, chewing on her lower lip. “The thing is… I know it would be smarter to wait, but… at the same time? I don’t want to.” She admitted.

“You could probably get your mom to agree to an earlier wedding. This summer, maybe? Your circumstances are a little bit different than everyone else’s. And you don’t know, you could be yanked forward in time again and your younger self would have to deal with all of this on her own.” Lydia mused. “I wonder if you and Stiles would still be together, if that happened.” 

Allison looked down at her hands, furrowing her brow. “I don’t know.” She said softly.

“I don’t think you just started to like him when you came back here.” Lydia smiled. “I think you both said you love each other way too soon, if that’s true. So you probably ought to reevaluate your feelings and figure out when you actually started to want him.” 

Allison cupped her hands over her mouth, breathing out heavily. “I don’t… I never…” She swallowed. “I don’t know. I really don’t, Lyds, I just… I never acted on feelings before, I didn’t think I ever saw him as more than a friend.”

“Why are you panicking?” Lydia demanded. “What’s wrong?” 

She looked at Lydia, wide-eyed. “What if I just think I love him?” Allison blurted. “What if this is part of what the nogitsune wanted when he sent us back? To make us think we were falling for each other, and make it that much harder for us to deal with if we happen to break up for any reason?”

“Okay, what did you think of Stiles before?” Lydia asked calmly. She got Allison something to drink and held it out to her. 

Allison’s fingers scrabbled for the cup, and she practically inhaled half of the contents in one gulp. “I thought… I thought he was funny. He was Scott’s friend, and I wanted - I wanted to be friends with him because… Because I thought I should be friends with him. Because I didn’t want him to hate me for dating his best friend.” She took another sip of the water, calmer and slower. “But… there was - when we first met, there was… Derek had driven me home from a party, because Scott was nowhere to be found. And… Stiles had come to my house, asking my mother about me, and when I came down the stairs, he just… the way he looked at me - I just smiled at him when I saw him, and he looked back at me like the earth just jerked out from under him.” She inhaled slowly. “I think… I think that was the first time that I sort of… saw him. And I thought…” She huffed, smiling absently. “I thought… that either he must have seen a ghost, or that he was really happy to see me.”

“What day was that?” Lydia smiled, dragging a chair closer to Allison. She sat down and looked up at her friend. “I also think it’s only fair to tell you that I refuse to wear a hideous dress when you make me your maid of honor.” She laughed. 

Allison rolled her eyes, laughing softly. “I would never make you wear anything hideous. I want people to look at me because I’m pretty and getting married, not at you because you’re pretty but wearing a sack.” She thought for a moment, then said, “January third. I think. No. No, that was my first day at school. You were the one that had the party, and you had it on a Friday night. The first Friday of the new semester.” She closed her eyes, counting the days. “January seventh.”

“Then you should get married on January seventh.” Lydia smiled. “Because I know that he’ll make that exact same face at you when he sees you in your wedding dress.” 

Allison flushed and put a hand to her face, laughing softly. “Oh… Help me pick out a dress.” She blurted, her hand darting out to clasp Lydia’s.

“I’d be honored.” Lydia laughed. “We should go now and get Erica on the way. And maybe Laura, too.” 

Allison nodded happily, and absently waved a hand at her face. “Okay, but we need to do it before I start crying because I’m about five seconds away, now.”

Lydia stood up and called Erica as she grabbed Allison’s hand and led her back through the living room. She held the phone away from her ear as she turned toward Scott, not stopping in her hurry to help Allison get outside. “We’re going shopping.” 

“O-kay…” Scott said slowly, blinking. “Have fun?”

Allison clutched Lydia’s hand tightly, and she waved at Stiles as they passed, blowing him a kiss.

Stiles smiled hesitantly. “Yeah, have fun.” He glanced over at Scott. “I’ve been shopping with both of them. It’s scary. Never again.” 

Scott looked back at Stiles warily. “Okay. Thanks for the warning.” He huffed out a laugh. 

Once the door was closed behind Allison and Lydia, Stiles turned toward Scott. “Why didn’t you just let Laura bite you?” He grimaced at his phrasing. 

Scott sighed. “I got scared, okay? Laura’s kind of scary. And she wasn’t exactly, you know… nice about it.” He paused. “Plus, um, she’s like insanely hot and the idea of her… it got me nervous.”

“So you, what? Thought you’d get hard while she was trying to bite you, to turn you?” Stiles laughed. “Derek’s never said anything to indicate that Laura was the type to just randomly grope someone, so I think you’re safe.” 

“Not because of that.” Scott groaned. “Because of… the biting. I wasn’t just scared of the biting because of the blood, dude.”

“If you don’t want it, that’s okay.” Stiles said gently. “I don’t want you to think that I’m going to force you into this. But... you would be better off, in a lot of ways. Not all, but most.” 

Scott sighed. “But I _do_. You think I don’t know how much better off I’d be if I didn’t have to gasp for air every time I bolted down the hall to a class?” He looked down, and then said hesitantly, “Would you come with me?”

“Yeah.” Stiles reached out and put his hand on Scott’s shoulder. “I wasn’t with you when this happened before, I’ll definitely be there now. Blood isn’t really something I can deal with, but I’ll come with you, anyway. I’m kind of... why did you feel like you had to even ask? Have I been a shitty friend?” 

Scott looked appalled. “What? No, dude, not even! It’s just - we’ve both been kind of busy, you know, you with Allison and me with Lydia. I just wanted to ask, I didn’t want to impose or something. Plus, you’ve got all this time travel crap to deal with and stuff to remember, and I just didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“You’re my best friend.” Stiles turned toward Scott, facing him as he spoke. “One of the biggest reasons I wanted to redo everything was because I wanted to do it right. Better than I had. And be able to help you more, now that I know what we’re dealing with. Or at least, that _was_ my plan. Now it seems like there’s a whole new wave of... crap.” 

Scott smiled faintly at Stiles. “Dude. I hate to break it to you, but that’s usually how it works. Murphy’s Law, or whatever, right?” He paused. “Or maybe it’s chaos theory.”

“I didn’t step on any butterflies.” Stiles smirked. “But yeah, maybe? I just know that I...” He bit his lip. “Okay, it’s something that maybe you can help me with, even though you haven’t been through it. Remember me telling you about the nogitsune?” 

Scott nodded. “Dude, how could I even forget that? The idea of something evil walking around with your face and torturing people is just freaky as hell.”

“Right.” Stiles agreed. “Well, I was supposed to be at Laura’s on Sunday.” He explained. “I would’ve been there when you got the bite, if you had gotten it that day. The thing is, I left Allison’s house and the next thing I knew, it was morning. In New Mexico.” 

Scott blinked at him. “What the hell, how?”

“I’m still not entirely sure. I snapped out of it long enough to call Allison and tell her my phone was dying and I was low on gas and had no idea where I was. Then I felt like I had to climb this big rock. I sat down near the top. I lost track of time again, trying to do something. It’s about an eighteen hour drive, without stops. By the time I snapped out of the second trance, her parents were there. I ended up in a third one during my walk back down to my Jeep. I think I got hit by lightning, too. But that doesn’t seem like it really happened.” 

Scott inhaled sharply. “Dude. That’s… that’s really scary. I mean, the possible lightning hit thing, _and_ the fact that you aren’t sure it happened. That’s terrifying. You could’ve been really hurt. Allison’s parents might not have been able to find you.”

“I didn’t even think about that.” Stiles took a deep breath of his own. “Um, this was leading up to me saying I think I’m a kitsune or a nogitsune or something.” 

Scott stared at him, wide-eyed. “You think you’re one of those demon things with the tails?”

“Well, yeah. Hold on, I’ll show you.” Stiles went upstairs and came back with the tail from New Mexico. “When I got back to my Jeep and stopped being in a trance, I was holding this. Allison’s mom said that I wouldn’t respond to her or Chris, and that when they tried to take the tail from me, I wouldn’t let them. She said she thought they might have to shoot me. Which sounds horrifying, but if you knew them... that’s actually pretty standard talk for the Argents.” 

Frowning, Scott looked at Stiles warily. “Dude… Um, I know this is sort of belated, but I’m really glad you’re the one dating Allison even though you kept trying to set her up with me. I don’t think I could handle her mom and dad.” He cleared his throat, squinting at what Stiles had called a tail. It just looked like a long, skinny piece of rock to him, although it was pretty shiny. “So. Um… you have a tail.” He looked up at Stiles, a nonplussed expression on his face. “That’s not a weird thing to say at all.”

Stiles laughed. “Yeah? Well, when you shift, you’re going to have pointy ears. And extra long sideburns.” 

Scott’s hands flew up to the sides of his face, one moving toward his ear as the other felt along his hairline. He narrowed his eyes at Stiles. “How pointy? How long?”

Stiles put his fingers on Scott’s cheeks. “This long. And not too pointy. You don’t look like you’re on your way to a Star Trek convention or anything.” 

“Am I going to look like, um. Like a - you know.” Scott faltered. “Um. A dog? Like… how wolfish does a werewolf actually look?”

“Not very. Mostly, you’ll look like a really hairy guy with claws, fangs and some forehead ridges.” Stiles explained. “But I never really felt like that was a downside, you know? Because you can run fast, heal fast... you can hear things that normal people can’t, which means eavesdropping on conversations that I need to be able to listen to. And yes, I expect you to help me out with that.” 

Scott snorted. “Ah, the real reason you want me to be a werewolf comes out.” He teased, playfully shoving at Stiles’ arm. “That all sounds… incredible. Like… superhero levels of awesome.” He bit his lips, shaking his head. “I’m no superhero, Stiles. I just want the chance to be healthy.”

“Okay.” Stiles murmured. “I’m trying to make sure that’s all you need to worry about. Being healthy. I need to talk to Deaton. And the Hales. This saving the world stuff is a little bit exhausting.” 

Scott patted Stiles’ shoulder affectionately. “I’m guessing you’re the superhero of this story, bro. That tends to happen when you save the world and crap.”

“But it’s not my job.” Stiles laughed. “It’s yours. I’m the sidekick. The Robin. That’s been my thing all along and I don’t know why it has to be different now.” 

Scott shrugged. “I don’t know, dude, but it is. It’s not like you’re doing a terrible job or something, you know?”

“It’s kind of easy to do the right thing when you’ve been through it before.” Stiles shrugged. “But this whole thing...” He gestured with the tail. “This is new. And Laura being alive, also new. I just don’t know what to do about these trances and what they might mean. I don’t want to hurt anyone else.” 

“Maybe you need to, like, do meditation or yoga or something.” Scott suggested. “Isn’t that supposed to help calm you down when you have situations like this? Maybe that’s all you need, man.”

“Now you sound like Deaton.” Stiles laughed. He tilted his head, staring at his best friend. “You know what, though? Last time, I helped you with finding an anchor and controlling your temper, and a few other things. This time, you’ll have Laura for all of that. But you could help me?” 

Scott swayed to the side, smiling and bumping their shoulders together. “Dude. You totally don’t even have to ask me.”

Stiles grinned. “Sure, throw my own words back in my face.” He snorted. “We used to talk all the time about how we were basically nobodies, before you got the bite. And the thing is, you included me in that. Like... but I didn’t change at all. Not the way you did. Not in a way that I thought mattered. And maybe this is going to suck and I’m doing the wrong thing here again, but if I can make a difference by being the super-powered one this time around, then I’m going to.” 

Scott bobbed his head thoughtfully. “You should. I really don’t think you _are_ doing the wrong thing, Stiles, this is exactly what you should be doing. I don’t know how the bite is going to change me this time, if I’m going to react the same way, or whatever, but you’ve always been the absolute best dude I’ve ever known. If I thought that me getting bitten changed the both of us for the better, I must have had a reason to believe it, you know?”

Stiles stared at Scott, then leaned in to hug him. “Thanks. I think I really needed to hear that.” He smiled. “Just so you know, I’m marrying Allison. Eventually.” 

Scott hugged Stiles back, grinning. “I figured, dude. I’m gonna be your best man, right?”

“Yeah, like I’d pick somebody else?” Stiles laughed. “Talking about her with you is still a little bit weird for me, though.” 

Scott shrugged helplessly, smiling. “I’m sorry, man. I know it’s weird for you, but, like… I don’t have feelings for her. I just don’t really see her that way - but you do, and that’s good. Maybe the future me was high on endorphins or hormones or something when I met her.”

“Yeah, you’ve both kind of said this to me.” Stiles nodded. “I don’t think Allison even knows that I know about her parents talking to my dad, though. I haven’t had a chance to bring it up, and I want to at least get her a good ring or something. So it’s going to be awhile.” 

Scott tilted his head, nodding, and then paused. “... Didn’t they say they were going shopping? I know this is, like, my first relationship with a girl, and this is probably a dumbass question, but what do they even have to go shopping for?”

“It’s not a stupid question.” Stiles laughed. “But girls like to buy things whenever they have a reason. Even if that reason is that it’s Monday.” He shrugged one shoulder. “They probably went to look at dresses? Lydia’s party is in a month, but there are holidays coming up. And if I’m right, they have Erica with them. Lydia was telling Erica the other day that she needs a lot of new clothes. So that’s probably what they’re doing.” 

Scott made a small noise in his throat, nodding. “Yeah, fair enough. Still, though, they just looked weirdly happy.” He laughed.

“You don’t think they went looking for wedding gowns, do you?” Stiles bit his lip. “Holy shit, they probably did.” 

Scott started laughing. “Dude, I totally think that’s what they did.”

“Well, the only reason Ally would even do that is if she wanted to get married sooner instead of later.” Stiles blurted. “She doesn’t even like shopping that much. Not the way Lydia does.” 

Scott stared at Stiles, his eyes slightly widening. “Dude. She wants to marry you, like… now-ish.”

“I don’t have a ring! I can’t even ask her formally or anything if I don’t go get one.” Stiles closed his eyes, trying to stay calm. “Okay. I can handle this. We have a credit card for emergencies. Last time, I decided getting Lydia a birthday present qualified. Don’t judge me. I bought a lot of stuff and didn’t even give most of it to her. The point is, I can go get a ring now, if I want.” 

Scott started to nod before he blinked and flailed. “Wait, no, no, don’t - we don’t know that that’s what they’re actually doing, you know, they didn’t say a word to us, for all we know, they actually are just - you know, shopping for party dresses or something.” He took a deep breath. “Okay. We need to calm down because holy crap - is it - is it even legal for you guys to get married at your age right now?”

“Not unless we have parental consent. Which we do.” Stiles nodded. “Okay. No, this is good. Weird that you’ve become the one calming me down, but that’s okay. I don’t want to get married right now, anyway. Maybe after college or something.” 

Scott laughed a little. “Dude, you need to talk with your girlfriend. And her parents. And your dad.”

“And a therapist.” Stiles muttered, smiling. “Damn it, stop enjoying this so much. I feel like a tool.” 

Scott laughed, hugging Stiles tightly. “I gotta get at least something over you once, dude, you know?”

Stiles groaned and put his head down on Scott’s shoulder. “You’re such a rude dick.” He laughed. “But okay.” 

Scott snickered quietly, patting Stiles’ back. “Ah, you love me.” He teased. “Say it, say you love me.” He drew the words out, adding consonants and vowels where there shouldn’t have been any extra.

“Nope.” Stiles grinned. 

Scott tackled him down to the ground. “Say it!”

“I’m not doing that.” Stiles shook his head. “This is why everybody thinks we’re gay.” He laughed. 

Scott glowered at him, pinching his side. “But we aren’t doing anything gay.” He protested. “It’s stupid for people to assume we’re one way when we aren’t.”

“Remember how you said you’d agree to make out with me one of these days? Is today that day?” Stiles looked up at Scott, smiling innocently. 

Scott didn’t look amused. “Dude. I’m heavier than you are. I will plant my butt right on your stomach and make you lose all of your air. You aren’t as cute as you think you are.”

“I think I’m cute as hell and my girlfriend thinks so, too.” Stiles retorted. “I love you, Scott.” 

Scott grinned down at him. He shifted off of Stiles, and then starfished on top of the other boy, hugging him. “I love you, too, Stiles. You’re my brother, no matter when, where, how… whatever.” 

Stiles smiled. “Yeah, same goes.” He nodded. 

Scott sat up and held his hand out to Stiles as he stood up. 

Stiles took Scott’s hand and got to his feet. “Before Ally and I came back here, I was able to take a handful of mountain ash and make more of it, just by focusing. So when I got to the mountain the other day, I was out of water and I told myself to focus on the actual last drop of it becoming a full bottle. I guess it actually took hours to work, and I lost track of time, like I said. But I did it.” 

Scott blinked. “That’s kind of amazing.” He said. “I mean, sucks that it took forever to work.” He squinted at Stiles thoughtfully. “Do you think you could do it again, faster if you tried? Like, would it get easier and quicker the more you do it?”

Stiles nodded. “If I learn how to focus. Like you said, I should meditate or do yoga or something.” He smiled. “I know that there are different kinds of kitsunes. Kitsune? I’m not sure what the plural is. Anyway, I don’t know what kind I am yet. Unless it’s just that I’m a nogitsune. But Allison thinks that if I keep you guys in mind, maybe I won’t lose track of my humanity.” 

“Kitsunai.” Scott blurted without thinking. He stared at his best friend and grinned. “Dude, you wouldn’t lose your humanity, not when it comes to us. We wouldn’t let you.”

“Where did you even get that from?” Stiles stared at Scott. “The plural thing. Did you start doing research or something?” 

Scott shrugged, looking mildly bewildered. “No. But maybe I’ve been picking things up from Lydia.”

“Or maybe this isn’t a reset timeline at all.” Stiles blurted. His vision blurred and he felt himself falling backward. 

“Stiles?” Scott called. “Stiles!” He grabbed hold of his friend’s shoulders, shaking him. “Stiles, this isn’t funny, dude, come on!”

Stiles stared up at Scott. “Panic attack.” He stammered. “I can’t... I can’t breathe.” 

Scott pulled back, looking terrified. He fumbled in his pockets and grabbed his inhaler, uncapping it. Putting one hand under Stiles’ head to support him, he pressed the mouth of the inhaler to Stiles’ lips. “Come on, okay, we got this, Stiles. You’re okay, alright? Breathe in, ready?” He depressed the inhaler and habitually inhaled, encouraging Stiles to do the same. “One more time, okay?”

Stiles gave Scott a grateful look as he breathed in a second time. He sat up slowly. “Sorry.” He frowned. “The thought that we’re not actually changing anything makes me feel sick. But I mean, I _did_ just go through... I think I have PTSD? I woke up one night while I was strangling Allison and she couldn’t fight me off. And if you knew her better, you’d know how weird that is.” 

Scott frowned. “Maybe she was… just shocked that it happened?” He suggested weakly. “I mean, you guys were asleep, right? But - you _are_ changing things. You kind of have to be, right? You said that Laura died and that we found her body, but - she isn’t dead. That’s good, right?”

“Yeah, it’s good. If she’s real. If we’re not just dealing with a mass hallucination.” Stiles muttered. “I want to believe it’s real, though. It’s just that my mind is kind of messed up, after everything. For all I know, that seventeen hours it took me to like, create water? I could have just been messed up and bought a whole new bottle.” He laughed derisively at himself. “I think I need more sleep. I went more than thirty-six hours without it. I mean, I’ve slept since, but still.” 

Scott nodded slowly. “I think you’d better actually sleep, then, dude. I don’t think you’re hallucinating, but you do look really freaking tired, and I’m worried about you. Allison’s shopping with Lydia and Erica and they’ll probably be gone for hours. You could get in some decent sleep in that timeframe.”

“All joking aside, you wanna lay down with me?” Stiles looked embarrassed. “Or maybe not. I don’t want to end up choking you. I might.” 

Scott’s face softened. “I don’t care, dude. If that’s - if you want me to lay down beside you, I will.” He squeezed Stiles’ shoulder.

Stiles nodded and went upstairs to his room, changing into sweatpants and laying down. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, already starting to drift off to sleep. 

Scott followed him up, grabbing an extra pair of sweatpants from Stiles’ dresser and changing into them before he settled down beside Stiles, staring down at his friend. “Don’t worry, Stiles.” He said quietly. “I’m right here, man. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

**

_”Stiles. You know he’s laying right there with you. You could wake up and do just about anything you wanted and just tell him afterward that you weren’t conscious of it. He’s not a werewolf here, not yet. He wouldn’t know that you were lying.”_

_“Why would I do that?” Stiles demanded, sitting up in bed and looking at the nogitsune, whose face was once again covered in bandages. “Scott’s my best friend. What you’re talking about is taking advantage of that. How could I expect him to even look at me again? And anyway, it’s all just a joke between us.”_

_“Is it?” The nogitsune’s mouth curved up into a smile. “Do you know what my purpose here was, Stiles? I was summoned, cried out to. To bring destruction and suffering, and then when I did exactly what was asked of me, I was told that I was the one in the wrong. You know what that’s like. I’ve seen it. All of it. Don’t you want to take some of it back for yourself?”_

_“No, I don’t. I don’t want to be like you. I’m nothing like you.” Stiles snapped, staring up in terror as the nogitsune rushed forward and sneered down at him. Light brown eyes met light brown eyes, and the nogitsune smiled, free of bandages._

_“You’re exactly like me.”_

Stiles screamed as he sat up in bed, flailing as he got up. His gaze darted around the room, giving Scott a cursory look to make sure he hadn’t done anything unforgivable while he slept. “Oh, thank god.” He sat down in his computer chair, not so sure he could trust that he was actually awake. He was going to keep his distance from Scott as best as he could, now. He knew this was just a repeat of how he had reacted to the situation with Allison, days earlier - but if he was going to be used as a vessel to hurt his friends, he would rather just have no friends. 

Scott blinked his eyes wide open, frantically looking around as he jolted upward. “What happened? What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Are you?” Stiles murmured. “I didn’t do anything in my sleep, did I?” 

Scott frowned, thinking, but shook his head. “No. You moved around a lot, I think.”

“Okay.” Stiles nodded. “He was trying to convince me... he wanted me to hurt you.” He stood up. “And like with Ally, I was just thinking it would be easier if I didn’t have you around to risk hurting you. But I’m starting to think that’s what he wants. It’s what he expects of me. So maybe the right thing to do is to do nothing. It’s a risk, yeah? But I can’t exactly hold onto my morality if I tell my moral compass to stay away from me.” He smiled at his friend. “If this is going to work, I need you.” 

Scott smiled crookedly at Stiles. “Dude. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m sure as hell not letting you walk away from us. You girlfriend would murder me.”

“Not you. Me.” Stiles corrected. He looked at his cell phone to see what time it was. “That nap was more like a full-fledged sleep.” He turned the phone to show the time to Scott. “Popcorn and a movie?” 

“Sounds good.” Scott nodded, and scooted off the bed. “Any movie in particular?”

“I don’t care, so long as it’s not The Butterfly Effect.” Stiles snorted. “Or Run Lola Run. Or Groundhog Day.” 

Scott laughed. “Indiana Jones marathon?”

“Yes!” Stiles grinned and went into the bathroom. He yawned as he emptied his bladder, then washed his hands and went downstairs, smiling fondly at Allison and Lydia, who were sitting on the couch. “Oh, hey.” 

Allison beamed up at him. “Hi! How was your afternoon?” She asked, looking over at Erica as the other girl entered the room and handed Allison a bottle of water.

“You didn’t see me asleep upstairs?” Stiles laughed. “How was your night? It’s about one o’clock.” 

Allison waved a hand at him. “We went shopping and looked at pretty things, I’m super hyped right now.” She grinned, taking a sip of her water.

Erica’s eyes glinted, a smile cracking across her lips. “For multiple reasons.” She said.

“What kind of reasons?” Scott asked, jumping down the last step and walking over to Lydia with a smile. He bent down to kiss her.

“Reasons that we can’t discuss right now.” Lydia grabbed Scott’s hand. 

“If you’re talking about the wedding stuff, I already know about it.” Stiles said casually, smiling at Allison. “I was stuck in a car with your dad for eighteen hours. When I wasn’t trying to sleep, we were talking. I tried turning the radio on at one point and that was just a bad idea. I know what your first word was and how old you were when you were potty-trained. Things I didn’t really need to know.” 

Allison clapped both hands over her eyes and groaned. “Oh god. I’m going to go wander off and die now.” She blurted, standing up.

“Don’t do that. We’re going to start watching Indiana Jones movies. I’m making popcorn.” Stiles gave Allison a pleading look. 

Allison fidgeted in place, moving from foot to foot. “My dad and I are going to have a very long discussion about appropriate things to discuss with my boyfriend.” She mumbled, and moved toward him, sitting down on the couch.

“My first word was booger.” Stiles laughed. “Okay? I’m not going to judge anybody else.” 

Allison looked amused, shaking her head. She leaned against him briefly, pressing her shoulder against his. “I love Indiana Jones.” She said finally, looking at him with soft eyes.

“I love you.” Stiles smiled. 

Lydia made a gagging noise and laughed. 

Stiles stood up. “Popcorn.” He muttered, gesturing toward the kitchen. He moved past Scott, resting a hand on his friend’s shoulder to keep his balance. He turned his head, brushing his lips against Scott’s before he went into the kitchen. It wasn’t until he was taking the plastic wrap off of the popcorn bag that he realized what he had just done. “Oh my god.” 

Scott blinked rapidly, staring straight ahead before he looked around the room, his cheeks reddening. “Um. I didn’t - that just happened.”

“Did it happen while we were gone, too?” Lydia asked carefully, studying Scott. 

Scott shook his head. “Uh-uh.” He blurted, still blinking. “I… We were teasing each other about it, but we weren’t…” He looked at Allison and repeated earnestly, “We weren’t. We didn’t. Really, honestly.”

Allison glanced at Erica, raising her eyebrows.

“He’s nervous.” Erica commented. “Like he thinks this is cause for a breakup.” 

“Do you want me to break up with you?” Lydia’s tone was soft. “I don’t want to, but... I can’t force you to be in a relationship with me.” 

Scott grabbed her hands. “No. No! I don’t want to break up. I definitely don’t want to break up. I’m crazy about you.”

“How crazy, exactly?” Lydia teased, smiling. 

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Stiles yelled from the kitchen. He sat down at the table, putting his head in his hands. 

Scott made a noise and dropped his head to her shoulder. “Super crazy. So, so crazy.”

Echoing what Lydia had done earlier, Allison gagged at her, then snorted out a laugh before she stood and walked into the kitchen, patting Scott reassuringly on the back as she went.

Stiles looked up at Allison. “I swear that wasn’t... I make jokes with him all the time, but I never would have acted on it.” 

Allison moved to his side, smiling gently. She put her hand on his shoulder and rubbed lightly before she wound both arms around his. “I know.” She said simply. “It was a shock. Not going to lie. But… he’s your best friend for a reason. And I’ve kind of always wondered. If you had, you know. Kissed, I mean.”

“Well, until today, that answer would have been no.” Stiles muttered. “I’m sorry.” 

Allison lifted a hand to touch his face. “Don’t be.” She murmured, and leaned close to him, hugging him tightly. “Honestly, it was… kind of hot?” She kissed his cheek gently, pulling back to look at him. 

“What... well, it’s not happening again. Ever.” Stiles shook his head. 

“Okay.” Allison said simply, rubbing his back soothingly. “It doesn’t ever have to. But I’m not mad at you, Stiles. It’s not like you kissed him to be vindictive or something. You kissed him like an afterthought. It was just the two of you for so long, and I think that being back in this body, being back where we started… You’re just remembering that, you know? For a while, all you had was each other, and I’m not going to be a crazy, rage-y bitch over you kissing your best friend.” She paused. “If you left me for him, that would be a different story entirely.”

“Did you ever kiss your best friend?” Stiles asked, smiling. He just wanted to move past feeling like he had ruined everything. 

Allison’s lips twitched as she looked up at him, both hands on his shoulders now. “My best friend is Lydia.” She replied, and wiggled her eyebrows. “What do you think?”

“I think I need some photographic evidence.” Stiles grinned. 

“Of course you do.” Allison laughed. “Unfortunately, there is none. Not from when it happened, anyway.” Her smile dimmed a little, and she exhaled. “The other timeline, you know?”

“The one where we were gonna die, yeah. I’m familiar with it.” Stiles said lightly. “Answer me something? Were you looking at wedding gowns?” 

Allison fidgeted, suddenly looking embarrassed. “Yes?”

“Oh fuck.” Stiles blurted, his eyes wide. “No, I mean, that’s... yay? But, um, do you... can we wait until we’re at least done with high school?” 

Allison gulped, staring back at him. “I was thinking that, yeah, but - you said ‘oh fuck.’ And… not in the good way.” She stepped back a little bit, peering at him warily. “There’s no rush, or anything. I was… I mean, I maybe sort of was thinking of… getting married before we finished high school, but I can wait, that’s not - that’s not a big deal, I just - do you want to marry me?” She asked hesitantly.

“Yes.” Stiles nodded. “But not like... I’m not even sixteen yet. I won’t be eighteen until halfway through senior year. Maybe we’re moving too fast on all of this?” 

Allison looked down and exhaled softly. “So… what do you think we should do?” She asked quietly. “I mean… Betrothal isn’t… it just means we get married one day. It doesn’t have to be right now, or next week, or… I got caught up in the excitement of the idea, I didn’t mean to… to make you nervous or embarrassed or anything. I don’t - if slowing down is what you want to do, then…” She swallowed roughly. “Then I guess that’s what we’ll do.”

“But it’s not what you want to do.” Stiles murmured. “You want to get married now. Or at least, really soon. You’re not like... you’re not like Lydia. Or Erica. You aren’t the type to go looking at wedding gowns unless you want to buy one and wear it in the next couple of months.” 

Allison shook her head. “But I _can_ wait.” She told him. “I know when I’m coming on strong, and your face is screaming ‘freaked out’ right now. No, I can wait.”

“Well, I mean, it’s not like... it’s not like I don’t want to.” Stiles shrugged one shoulder. “So we could. It doesn’t really matter to me when it happens, I guess. I just thought later would make more sense? But it wouldn’t change anything for me.” 

Allison cupped his face in both hands, leaning in to kiss him lightly. “I can wait.” She promised him. “Marriage isn’t anything to rush into, whether we’re betrothed or not.” Leaning against him, she hugged him lightly. “Later does make more sense. You aren’t going anywhere, and I’m not going anywhere. We’ve got time.”

Stiles nodded. “I love you. I just want time for us to get through all of this, start having actual new experiences together, you know? Figure out what we’re doing for college, that kind of thing.” 

Allison nodded, smiling softly at him. She inhaled deeply, and then leaned forward, gently bumping her forehead against his. “I think that sounds really exciting.” She told him. “And I can’t wait. I love you.”

Stiles put his hands on Allison’s waist and tugged her down into his lap. “So, did Lydia and Erica pick out wedding gowns, too?” He smiled. 

Allison willingly went down into his lap, smiling at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “They definitely looked, but I am not allowed, on pain of death, to reveal whether or not they picked anything out.” She paused, grinning. “Do you want to see the one I liked, though? They took a picture of it. And then a picture of me in it. Erica sent it to me.”

“No! Crazy woman.” Stiles shook his head, laughing. “Damn it, you know that’s against the rules. For whatever reason.” 

Allison snorted. “Stiles, by the time we’re actually ready to get married, my tastes will likely have changed, and I’ll want an entirely different dress.” She kissed the side of his head. “Okay, how about this? I have pictures of about six different dresses - none of which I am wearing in the pictures. We can look at those, so you can see how painfully expensive my tastes run.” She laughed.

Stiles smiled. “Okay. I know that weddings are supposed to be all about the bride, but I’ve kind of had ideas for years about what I want.” 

Allison’s eyes lit up a little. “Oh? Like what sort of ideas? Any wedding that you and I have is going to be about both of us, not just me.”

“Different ones.” Stiles started playing with Allison’s hand as he spoke. “I’ve always liked Halloween, and I’ve never been much of a fan of springtime. Because that’s when Scott’s asthma is the worst, with all the pollen and crap in the air. He can’t breathe very well, and I always told myself that if we were doing an outdoor wedding, whoever I married... they would have to deal with me vetoing about half the year. Of course, that was before he was bitten. But here, he’s not. He’s been holding off and wanting to talk to me about every potential problem. He’s still not sure he wants this for himself. And maybe... I don’t know. Maybe this time around, he doesn’t need it. It’ll be weird, but not impossible. We still know what’s coming and I think we can put a stop to all of it without him being a werewolf. Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. What else is new? What I was saying was... no, hold on. First - okay. He’s been giving me advice and trying to help me learn to control what’s going on with me. That’s what we were talking about right after you guys left, and I admitted that I haven’t slept a whole lot in the past week. I’m just glad I have understanding people in my life that didn’t draw penises on us for being asleep when they got back.” He laughed. 

Allison snorted, clapping a hand over her mouth in amusement. “Oh, god. But that would have been awesome if someone had.” She teased, kissing his cheek. Tilting her head thoughtfully, she said, “Lydia and I were talking about you and I. About… when we started seeing each other differently, I mean. And I was telling her about when we first met, that first week that I was here in town. Remember? Derek dropped me off at home, and then you came flying into the house to find me?” She rubbed her fingers lightly over the nape of his neck. “That was January seventh. She said that would be a good day to…” She shrugged, smiling crookedly. “Well, I wouldn’t object to a fall or winter wedding.”

“So that was a big deal to you, then?” Stiles closed his eyes, smiling because of Allison’s hand on his neck. “I’d be all right with that day, too. But not next year.” 

Allison laughed softly, watching his face. “Not next year.” She agreed, and then paused. “The look on your face when you saw me was a big deal to me. I don’t know how to explain how it made me feel.”

“Try.” Stiles laughed. “I want more information than that.” 

Allison studied him for a moment, swallowing a little. She took a deep breath, and then exhaled again. “It made me feel like… like gold. Like… jewels. Something precious. I don’t think anyone’s ever looked at me like that. Not even Scott.”

“I was really glad that you were safe.” Stiles opened one eye, then the other. “If I had known that you were you, that day at the bookstore? I would have said something. I probably would have kissed you, regardless of whether or not you might have slapped me for it, afterward. But I thought I had come back by myself. Anyway, yeah. That sounds like a good day to me, too. It’s a Friday next year, but a Saturday in twenty-twelve. We could get married then.” He smiled. “If you want.” 

Allison beamed at him, cupping his face and kissing him deeply. “I want. I want a lot.”

Stiles moved to wrap an arm around Allison and lift her as he stood up, but he nearly dropped her. “Oh my god. Okay. Sorry.” He blushed, embarrassed. “That’s what I get for trying to be cool. Just come with me into the living room, so we can tell everybody? And then I’m going to talk my dad into signing me up for the gym that the deputies use. Between that and your parents making me learn how to use a few different weapons, I’m probably not going to have time for lacrosse this year. Which means I won’t get those last few goals like I did.” He pouted. “Even though that was just one game, I kind of liked it.” 

Allison looked at him sympathetically. “You could still play. You could just go to the gym on your off-days. I know Finstock is nuts, but he wouldn’t prevent you from honoring other obligations.” She paused. “He’d just demand that your obligations to him and lacrosse come first. And then he’d talk to your dad, and talk to my parents, and you’d basically get your own schedule for the year.” She grinned, taking his hand.

Stiles laughed and lifted Allison’s hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “I’m glad I have you with me.” He murmured, turning and pulling her with him as he walked into the living room. “We’ve got a wedding date in mind.” 

Scott sat up in interest, resting his hand on Lydia’s back.

Erica leaned forward expectantly. “What is it?”

Allison curled against Stiles’ side, smiling softly. “January seventh, two-thousand-and-twelve.” She replied.

“The anniversary of the day I drove her mom nuts with a rambling speech about her, because I didn’t know how to say ‘your daughter might be dead in the woods.’” Stiles explained. “It’s... I just took all of the romance right out of it, didn’t I?” He sighed. 

Allison dropped her head against his shoulder, shaking her head and laughing. “I love you.” She said simply.

Scott shot Stiles a crooked grin. “You might want to leave that part out of your vows.”

“I’d tell you to bite me, but you’d probably wait and take me up on it later.” Stiles muttered, smiling back at Scott. “No werewolfing for me.” He turned toward Allison. “I love you, too.” 

“Now that you have a date in mind, everything else will be easier.” Lydia leaned against Scott as she looked up at Allison. “No mistletoe at your wedding, though. There may be a discount on it because of the after-holiday sales, but it’s not good for werewolves.” 

Allison made a face, glancing at Stiles. “Oh, trust me. We’re well aware of that.” She sighed.

“I wasn’t.” Erica piped up, glancing at Lydia. “Thank you, by the way.”

Lydia nodded. “When I heard about all of this, I was skeptical. But the more I learn, the more interested I am. Besides, I plan on being with Scott for a long time. If being a werewolf is something he wants, then I’m going to learn everything I can about it.” 

Scott felt a silly grin cross his face, and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her against his chest and kissing the top of her head. “Best girlfriend ever.”

“Excuse me, but no.” Stiles smiled. “That would be mine.” 

“Shut up, both of you.” Erica stood up, pointing at them before smirking and pointing at herself. “That would be _me_.”

“There’s only one way to solve this.” Stiles shook his head, laughing. “Allison is the best _brunette_ girlfriend, Lydia is the best _red-haired_ girlfriend, and Erica is the best _blonde_ girlfriend. Are we all okay now?” 

Erica blinked, and then looked at the other girls, her lips twitching. “I guess that sounds alright. What do you think, Angels?”

Allison squinted at Erica before snorting out a laugh. “Cute. Sounds good to me.”

Lydia smiled. “I’m okay with it.” 

“I’m not.” Stiles laughed. “Because you three are Powerpuff Girls and anyone who says otherwise is wrong.” 

Allison pursed her lips, thoughtfully. “I _do_ get pretty mean, sometimes.”

“I’m a leader.” Lydia laughed, then glanced at Erica for a long moment, silently comparing her to Bubbles. “Okay, I think that’s a fair assessment. But I refuse to answer to Blossom.” 

Erica narrowed her eyes at Lydia. “I’m not Bubbles.” She said firmly.

Allison giggled. “But you’re so peppy and upbeat.” She teased.

“I’m _not_ Bubbles!” Erica insisted, pointing at the older girl.

“You get around Boyd and turn into a giggling mess.” Lydia countered. “Don’t argue.” 

“I don’t giggle!” Erica protested, her hands flailing. “Where the hell is Boyd, he’d tell you. I totally don’t giggle.”

“Boyd isn’t here because -” Lydia froze, forcing a smile onto her face. “Because he’s not.” She glanced at Stiles, then looked away. 

Stiles blinked. “Okay? Do I want to know what that was about?” 

“He doesn’t like you.” Lydia sighed. “He doesn’t like coming over here. He thinks you’re bossy and arrogant.” 

“Well... he’s not wrong?” Stiles shrugged. 

Erica grimaced. “Still, though. I really do wish he liked you a little more.” She sighed. “He’s actually hanging out with Derek right now.”

Allison smiled weakly. “At least that’s still a thing, right? That they’re getting along well enough?” She wrapped her arm around Stiles, rubbing her hand up his side gently.

“Yeah.” Stiles was a little unnerved, but tried to remind himself that Boyd liking him wasn’t the thing he needed to be focused on. “Scott, you should get Laura to bite you on the second of January. That’s when it happened before.” 

Scott squinted at Stiles. “What if it doesn’t happen on that day?” He asked, frowning. “Would something bad happen?”

“No, probably not.” Stiles shook his head. “But that gives you about a month to really think it over and decide for certain that this is what you want, you know? Because I’m not so sure that you’re interested. And it’s okay if you’re not. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’ll figure it out.” 

Scott looked over at Lydia, biting his lower lip. “I think I should think about it a little bit longer.” He murmured. “I know I probably should do it, but… I just want to make sure that, like, I’m in the right headspace, and I don’t just agree to do it, just because.”

Lydia smiled and kissed Scott. “You should be comfortable with this. It’s a big decision.” 

Stiles glanced over at Allison, not saying what he was thinking as he took a deep breath. Even though he had said Scott should think about it, he was hoping that his friend would just get the bite and do what he was supposed to do. “I’m guessing Indiana Jones isn’t happening tonight.” He muttered. “It’s fine, we have school in about five hours, anyway. We should sleep.” 

Allison bent her head down and lightly pressed her lips to his shoulder. “Sleep is probably the best option.” She agreed. “Indy can wait. Did you guys want to stay over?” She asked, glancing at Lydia, Erica and Scott.

Erica shrugged. “I can. But I might actually head over to Laura and Derek’s loft to get Boyd.”

“Not if he doesn’t want to be here.” Stiles muttered. “Look... just... just sleep.” He shook his head. “I’m going upstairs. Good night.” He waved a hand at everyone and went upstairs. 

Allison exhaled softly, looking at the others. “I’m sorry. I just - I’m going up. You guys can stay down here, if you want, or you can take the guest room, or - I’m going upstairs.” She smiled weakly at them, and then bolted up the stairs after Stiles.

Stiles stared at Allison. “Okay. It’s a dumb thing to be mad about, since I was fine with them staying here anyway. But you can’t just invite people to spend the night at my house. Boyd doesn’t have to freaking like me, he didn’t like me before anyway and there’s nothing I can even do about that. And Scott doesn’t have to get the bite, either. It’s a rude thing for me to want him to, against his will. I know that. Consent is a big deal, something something body image issues. I’m too tired to get into all of that. Just... we don’t know what happens if he doesn’t get the bite. It could be a hundred times worse than what we dealt with.” 

Allison looked down, nodding. “We’ll work on it. We won’t push him into getting the bite, but we’ll just… we’ll at least help him make an informed decision, a proper one, and hopefully, he’ll agree to get the bite. And that’ll be that.” She swallowed. “And… I overstepped my boundaries. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”

Stiles sighed and held his arms out to her. “Come here. I’m being a dick, I know. I’m just still not sure what’s going on with this whole nogitsune thing, I need to learn to control it. I need to talk to Deaton. I was going to do that today, but I slept for about eight hours, instead. And I’m still tired.” 

Allison moved into his arms, pressing her head to his shoulder. “You’re exhausted.” She said softly. “Everything that’s happening, I don’t know if it’s latent energy, or… time travelling jet lag, or what, but it’s new. It definitely didn’t happen before, and it’s taking its toll on you. The sooner we can get you to Deaton, or starting meditation or something, the better off you’ll be, I think.”

Stiles smiled sadly. “I hope so. At this point, I kind of want to see if he can just skip us to the day after we were dying and see what’s different.” 

Allison shook her head, hugging him a little tighter. “I don’t. I don’t want to see the look on my dad’s face. I couldn’t bear it.”

Stiles kissed Allison. “Tomorrow, we’ll talk to Deaton and tell your parents and my dad that we have a wedding date in mind, now. We’re going to get through all of this and I’m going to marry you, and I don’t know what’s going to happen after that. But we’ll get to find out together.” 

Allison kissed him back softly, shutting her eyes as she rested her head against his. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She told him. “You and me, Stiles.” She smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was absolutely nothing else that would have suited this chapter, as a title. We hope you enjoy!


	19. Vulpecula

Stiles sat in Deaton’s waiting room after school the next day, lost in thought as he waited for everyone who actually had a pet to go before him. Lydia’s mom had taken over for Harris, who was in jail. Isaac’s dad was also in jail, and Laura had been appointed Isaac’s legal guardian. Isaac and Boyd still wanted nothing to do with Stiles, and he was trying to be okay with that; he didn’t like a lot of people, but he respected the betas and felt oddly wistful as he remembered protecting Erica and Isaac from Jackson. Thinking of Jackson made him sigh in frustration. His former friend was still former. Stiles had tried everything he could think of, even before he had put Jackson on his list the day before. He still didn’t know who the nogitsune was pretending to be, he was trying not to panic about Scott staying human, and Finstock had refused to let him quit lacrosse, even though it hadn’t even started yet. He leaned toward Allison, keeping his voice down. “You had seriously better be prepared to have sex with me when we’re done here, because I have had the _worst_ day.” 

Allison snorted, not looking away from the literal basket of kittens in the lap of an older woman four seats away from them. “I'm always prepared for that, bad day or not.” Her hand snaked out to wrap around his. “It took forever the last time we tried to connect with Boyd, Isaac and Jackson, Stiles. It'll take awhile this time, too. They didn't suddenly change just because we moved backward in time.” She turned to look at him and shrugged, smiling softly. “They're still the same people. We don't need them to like us - we just need them to be willing to cooperate with us. Liking us would just be a bonus.” She leaned in and kissed the top of his head. “Like Scott. I know it's been hard, with the way he's been wavering about the bite - but he at least has a choice this time, for all intents and purposes. Peter didn't give him that last time - he had no choice at all, and afterward, he complained about wanting to be normal so much - and it just wasn't in the cards for him. But I always sort of thought that if he'd had the chance to think it out, and had all the information laid out in front of him - what it means to be a werewolf - that he would say yes, take the bite, whether it was for health reasons or something else.” She looked at him and then leaned her head against his shoulder. “He'll come around, Stiles. You and I both know he will.”

“It’s not just those guys. This nogitsune wouldn't be stupid enough to keep wearing my face, which just means I have no idea who it is. We need...” Stiles froze. “Oh, fu- I just thought of how to figure it out. But it’s going to suck for me. I’ll explain later.” He rubbed his hands together, suddenly anxious and worried. “I can’t stand waiting.” He blurted, getting to his feet. He reached for the gate, jerking his hand back when electricity crackled between the wood and his fingertips. His head tilted as he rubbed his thumb against his fingers, and he stared at the gate, exhaling slowly. He reached out again and opened the gate, turning toward Allison. “Come on.”

Allison nodded and stood, making her way toward the gate as well. She wasn't sure what Stiles had in mind, and the idea that it would ‘suck for him’ didn't particularly make her happy, but she would back him up either way. 

Stiles watched Allison carefully as she passed him, wondering if she had noticed that it took him two tries to get the gate open. As much as it made him feel sick to his stomach, he also felt like he did when Finstock had moved him to first line in lacrosse. He just didn’t express his joy as openly, choosing now only to smile at the thought that he was different. 

Allison glanced back at him over her shoulder and grinned faintly, brazenly reaching her hand out for his. “I know sparks fly on the regular for us, but let’s try not to embarrass everyone in the room with our electricity.” She teased quietly, her voice low. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.

Stiles’ smile widened, and he followed her down the hallway. “Yeah, I should probably be surprised, but it’s not all that shocking.” 

Allison giggled and leaned into his side. “I’m just thrilled about how positively charged we are.”

Stiles stopped walking, turning to look at Allison. “If I hadn’t already said I want to marry you, I want to marry you.” 

Allison stopped as well and turned to look back at him, smiling softly. “Well, that’s good.” She murmured. “Because I want to marry you, too.” She leaned forward to kiss him.

Stiles lowered his head, his eyes closing. Just as their lips met, he felt like he had been stung from the jolt that passed between them. He opened his eyes and looked down at her, wondering if he should apologize. 

Allison stared up at him, her mouth hanging open. She looked visibly jolted, her eyes wide and her pupils dilated. “Whoa.” She breathed out, dazed. “I’m currently too surprised to think of anything else to say.”

Stiles blinked, then started laughing. “That was good. Damn it, you’re going to make everyone hate us if this keeps up. We’ll be ‘that couple.’ Not that I mind.” 

Allison ducked her head and dropped her forehead to his shoulder, laughing. “Everyone else would just be jealous, anyway.” She shook her head, blinking. “That was really - that was something.” She murmured, lifting her head to look at him. “I can honestly say that I’ve never been shocked by a kiss before.”

“Neither have I.” Stiles murmured. “I kind of liked it. I don’t want it to happen all the time, though.” He put his arm around her and walked into the room where Deaton and Scott were working. 

Scott looked up when they entered, raising his eyebrows. “Hey, guys. What’s going on?” He asked, eyes darting between them in confusion. “You look really… uh…”

“Energized?” Allison quipped, her lips trembling from the grin she was trying to force back.

Stiles laughed. “We’re fine.” He murmured. “Ecstatic, even.” He glanced at Allison, grinning. “Okay, we just wanted to talk about what’s been going on, and since Deaton is the resident expert in weird, this is kind of long overdue.” 

Deaton looked bemused as he stood up straight. “I’m sorry, what?” 

Allison clasped her hands in front of her and straightened as well. “The long and short of it is… Stiles and I came back in time. Things that didn’t happen in the last timeline are happening now. One of the things happens to be that Stiles is possibly a kitsune. A thunder kitsune, specifically. Or a nogitsune. Hopefully not. Either way, he’s been giving off a lot of electricity lately, and when we kissed just now, we both got shocked.”

“I see.” Deaton murmured. “What happened before you ended up back here? And what day did you come back to?” 

“We were dying.” Stiles grimaced, giving Scott an apologetic look before he turned back to Deaton. He was pretty sure he had already explained all of it to Scott, but he didn’t like bringing it up in front of his best friend. “We weren’t near one another, but we both thought that if we could just come back and redo everything, we’d do it better. Fix it. It was November sixteenth of next year. We ended up coming back to November sixteenth of _this_ year. She was in San Francisco and did what she could to convince her parents to move here sooner than she did, the first time around. Um... I saw her a couple of weeks after we moved backward. We think that we were brought back here by someone whose intentions aren’t exactly noble? And it’s made me different. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.” 

“A nogitsune?” Deaton guessed. “I’ve never heard of them being able to do something like this, but I suppose it’s possible. And you think that’s what you’re becoming. Have you tried moving forward or backward in time, on your own?” 

“I thought about it, but I’m not good at any of this yet. I kind of have a bad habit of screwing things up, you know? I’d probably just send my lungs forward or something. Without the rest of me.” Stiles muttered. “It’s not worth the risk.” 

Allison put her hand on top of his gently. “If it helps at all, Stiles was… he wasn’t super powerful, but - you called it a spark. He’s been able to manipulate mountain ash, and not long ago, before we came back, he was able to create it out of nothing. This fox spirit thing… isn’t new, either, not exactly.”

Deaton was silent for a long moment, thinking as he stared at Stiles. “Yes, I can see what you’re saying.” He nodded. “With the proper training, you could find that you’re incredibly powerful. Is that what you were actually hoping to ask me?” 

Stiles smiled and pointed at Deaton. “Yeah, exactly that.” 

“Unfortunately, I’m not very well-versed in the practicalities of fox spirits.” Deaton continued. “I’m sorry. My field of expertise is a little more narrow than you assumed.” He glanced at Scott, then looked back at Stiles and Allison. 

Scott looked at them apologetically. “That’s probably not what you two wanted to hear.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, guys.”

Allison’s shoulders fell a little, and she exhaled. “Damn it.” She said softly, and then glanced at Stiles. “We might have to…” She trailed off, and then turned to Deaton. “You wouldn’t, by chance, know how to get in contact with a woman named Noshiko Yukimura, would you?”

“As a matter of fact, I would.” Deaton smiled. “But you might have better luck with getting through to her if you ask the Hales to contact her for you. Talia Hale was a good friend of Noshiko’s, as well as Satomi’s. When Derek and Laura left here, it was because Satomi advised them to look for Noshiko. For safety.” 

“How did you know...” Stiles trailed off and shook his head. “Nevermind. You would think by now that I would know better than to even bother asking how you know what you know.” He looked at Scott again. “Deaton, do you think you could maybe take care of jump-starting something that I know you already know about? We’re hitting a roadblock, here.” 

“I believe that everything works out exactly the way that it’s supposed to.” Deaton smiled. “Thanks for coming by.” 

Scott glanced at Deaton, squinting at the older man before giving Stiles a confused expression and shrugging. “Um. I can swing by your house and help you later, if you want. As best as I can, I mean. Unless you’re planning to head to Derek and Laura’s loft, and then I can meet you there?”

Allison smiled gently at him, before glancing at Stiles. “We can text you and let you know?”

“Yeah, we’re um, planning to go see Derek and Laura later.” Stiles smiled. “After we go home and take care of something. I mean, my house.” 

Allison let out a little laugh, threading her fingers through his. “Yes. So, we’ll definitely see you later.” She told Scott, smiling at the other boy.

Scott smiled carefully back at them both, letting out a laugh of his own. “Awesome. So… later, then.” His lips twitched. 

“Yeah.” Stiles paused. “Well, bye.” He waved to Scott and grabbed Allison’s hand, walking out of the room with her. 

Allison threw her head back, laughing as she hurried along behind Stiles. “We are not the least bit subtle.”

“Fuck subtle.” Stiles said automatically, then smiled. “Hey, you probably need to open the gate for me, to leave. I don’t want anyone else seeing me looking like I’m messing with an electrified fence.” 

Allison nodded, reaching for the gate as they approached it, and she opened the gate, stepping to the side to let Stiles out first. She bit her lip, grinning faintly before she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, kissing the back of his neck.

Stiles smiled, tilting his head down a little. “Just wait two more minutes.” He laughed. 

“Disgusting.” An older woman muttered from her seat in the waiting room. She was the owner of the basket of kittens. She glared at Stiles and Allison. “Nobody wants to see the two of you all over each other, this way.” 

Stiles snorted. “Close your eyes, then.” 

The woman started to protest, but her eyes closed almost involuntarily, and she brought her hand up to her face, shrieking in terror as her eyelashes seemed to dissolve into her skin. The skin around her eyes knit together, leaving no opening. 

Stiles looked horrified. “Oh my god. No. I didn’t mean...” 

Allison clapped a hand over her mouth, looking stunned. “Oh, god.” She whispered. “Can we - what do we do?” She asked him frantically. “Stiles, what do we do?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles shook his head, moving aside when he heard footsteps behind him and Allison. 

Deaton crouched by the client, turning to look up at Stiles and Allison. “You two should leave.” 

Stiles thought about protesting, but decided against it and walked outside. He took a deep breath, pressing the heel of his hand against one of his eyes as he fought back tears. “I think I’m going to be sick.” 

Allison hugged him tightly, rubbing his back gently, looking worriedly over his shoulder and back into the clinic. “I don’t understand what happened.” She whispered. “Or how it happened. I don’t even know if you actually did it.” She looked up at him, nearly shaking. “You didn’t gesture your hand or do anything, I don’t… you couldn’t have done it, could you? What if it was - maybe it was something else, maybe it was the nogitsune. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done something horrific, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s messed with us,” she reasoned, looking desperate.

“I told her to close her eyes.” Stiles murmured. “But I was thinking that maybe she should just stop looking at everybody if they’re so damned offensive.” He breathed in shakily. “It’s my fault.” 

“No, Stiles, baby, no.” Allison murmured, rubbing his shoulders gently. She looked tearfully at him. “It’s not - it was an accident. That wasn’t supposed to - you didn’t mean for _that_ to happen, not that.”

“I didn’t. But I need to learn to control this. I don’t want to be like him. I don’t want to think it’s funny to kill someone. Or hurt them like that.” Stiles shook his head. “I need someone to train me. And even though we probably should call Noshiko, I don’t trust her.”

Allison nodded, exhaling softly. “Who do we talk to, then?” She asked him. “We need - we need someone. I don’t care if it’s Noshiko or the Hales, or a - a shaman in the West Indies, or the Dalai Lama himself.” She rubbed a hand over her eyes, and then looked up at him. “You’re so powerful, Stiles. More powerful than you thought, than we both thought. And you’re amazing, I know you could do so much with that power. It hurts me to see this look on your face. I don’t care what it takes. I will do everything I can to help you, no matter what it is or where it takes us.”

“But we’re supposed to stay here.” Stiles said quietly. “To help Scott and the others. We can’t just leave, not even if the only person that can help us is like, in an alternate dimension or wherever.” 

Allison lowered her head to his shoulder, closing her eyes. “How are we supposed to help everyone if we can’t help ourselves, though?” She asked quietly. She let out a soft breath. “I can… I can ask my dad if he knows anyone. My mom, too. For all I know, _she_ could help us.”

“I kind of just want to go home.” Stiles sighed. “I mean... back to where we were. When this wasn’t even a problem and I was just the guy trying to help his friend with werewolf problems.” 

Letting out a sigh of her own, Allison stared up at him, looking lost. “I’m not sure that…” She swallowed, and then tried again. “I wouldn’t. I… that was a world where I was constantly lied to. That… that home was a place where we weren’t - we weren’t together. Where we both died.” She shifted. “I don’t know where to go from here, or what to do, Stiles.”

“I think by now, it’s different.” Stiles mused. “We’re there, less than a month from our wedding and we’re alive.” He leaned toward Allison to kiss her. “The loft, then maybe we’ll talk to your parents over dinner and then go back to my house?” 

Allison kissed him back softly, nodding. “Sounds like a plan.” She murmured, leaning against his chest. 

**

Stiles picked at his food a few hours later. When he had gone over to the Hales’ loft with Allison, nobody was home. Laura had left a note taped to the door for them, saying that she was taking all of her pack members out to the Preserve to run around a little, and that she would be in touch with him and Allison soon. Stiles didn’t feel like calling to verify his suspicions were correct, but he had a feeling that Deaton had told Laura to avoid him for a while. 

“Stiles, eat.” John told him quietly, patting his son’s back. “At least get something in your system, please?” He wasn’t sure why his son was so quiet - he hadn’t had a chance to speak with him all day, and indeed, this was the first time he’d actually even been able to _see_ Stiles today, but picking at his food wasn’t something Stiles generally did. He wanted to speak with Stiles, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to bring anything up in front of Allison and her parents.

“I’m just not very hungry.” Stiles murmured, glancing up at the adults seated around the table. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.” 

“You can discuss it with us, if you like.” Chris said idly, digging his fork into the gravy-soaked roast that Victoria had made.

John looked at the roast longingly, then gazed sadly down at the poached, very plain chicken that graced his plate, next to the salad dressed only with oil and lemon juice. Shaking his head, he looked over at his son. “He’s right, you know. You can tell us anything, kiddo. We’ll listen.”

“Is someone at your school bothering you?” Victoria demanded. She cut a small slice of food for John and set it on his plate, giving Stiles a sharp look when the teenager started to protest. 

“Fine.” Stiles muttered. “Yeah. No. I mean, nobody’s bothering me. Things just aren’t going how I expected them to, and I’ve always had a problem with...” He sat back in his seat, setting his fork down. He hadn’t been using it, anyway. “Unexpected changes. I’ve had pretty high anxiety and ADHD on top of that, since I was a little kid. I was kind of looking forward to being able to have control over things.” He snorted at himself, thinking of the fact that he was more certain with each passing hour that he was becoming a creature that thrived on chaos. 

Chris looked up at Stiles. “No one can have complete control over everything, Stiles.” He told the younger man. “It isn’t possible. You hope for the best outcome, and brace yourself for the bullshit that gets thrown back at you.”

John gave Victoria a grateful look and dug into his food, looking at Stiles. “He is right, you know.” He paused worriedly. “Are you wanting to go back to the doctor, for your meds? Are you out? Have you been taking them, even?”

Allison paused, looking up at Stiles from her plate. “You were on meds?” She murmured gently, putting a hand on top of his.

“Adderall.” Stiles admitted, embarrassed. “And Ativan. They kind of mess with each other, though. So sometimes I have to switch out the Ativan for Xanax. And then I’m too tired to pay attention in class. That’s part of why Harris always gave me detention.” 

Allison squeezed his hand, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek gently. “I didn’t know that.” She mumbled. “I kind of always just thought you were…” She ducked her head. “Manic-depressive. Bipolar, I mean. I’m sorry. I didn’t know about the medication.”

“You thought I was bipolar?” Stiles repeated, sitting up and frowning at Allison. “Seriously?” 

Allison cringed. “I didn’t know.” She repeated. “Sometimes, you seemed so… energetic, and expressive and full of life, and then… sometimes you just didn’t. I just - I should have asked, or something, I shouldn’t have assumed. I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s just... you seriously thought that?” Stiles repeated. “And you wanted to marry me, thinking that I could go from... Bruce Banner to the Hulk? Without even a warning? And that’s what you wanted for yourself?” 

Victoria didn’t say anything, but she watched her daughter’s reaction, a fond smile on her face. 

Allison blinked at him. “Okay, I know we’ve been having some issues with the nogitsune and everything, Stiles, but I’m crazy about you. Just like Betty Ross is crazy about Bruce. What I want for myself is someone who looks at me the way that you do, someone who can be my closest friend, my _best_ friend. I want someone I can discuss things with intelligently, and someone that I can be equals with, someone who isn’t going to tell me to just ‘stay out of things’ because, say, they’re worried about my safety and don’t think I can take care of myself. Which I absolutely can, despite what… some recent events may seem to suggest.” She cleared her throat, turning away from her plate in order to face him. “What I’m saying is that I love you. And that I will take the good with the bad, the happiness with the scary times, _because_ I love you. Doofus.”

Stiles laughed, but he nodded in understanding at Allison’s words, knowing who she had been referring to without saying his name. “I’d never tell you to stay out of my way.” He murmured. “I did try to convince you that you would be better off elsewhere, but you know that’s not the same thing. You’d never be in my way, anyway.” He took a deep breath, realizing that it was actually possible that he and Allison could be a good couple, and not just an alternative to Allison being with Scott. His expression softened and he reached for her hand. 

Allison smiled back at him widely, her eyes sparkling, and she took his hand, threading her fingers with his. “Trying to get me to go somewhere else came back and bit you in the ass, anyway.” She teased, kissing his cheek.

John watched the two of them in amusement, though his eyes were noticeably affectionate and warm. “You two should think about putting that into your vows when the time comes. Really, that was heart-warming.”

Chris snorted out a laugh, nearly choking on the piece of roast he’d just placed in his mouth.

Victoria smiled. “Don’t be so rude to your fiancé, Allison. At least he has the common sense not to get married right away.” 

Allison flushed. “I changed my mind about that!” She protested, looking embarrassed. “It was a moment of crazy, and I agree with him about waiting.” She looked at Stiles, grinning. “Besides, he likes it when I’m rude.”

Stiles grinned back, then turned toward his dad, feeling a little nervous and excited at the same time. “We do have a wedding date in mind.” He admitted. “January seventh. Of two thousand-twelve. I know that’s still just junior year, but we’ve agreed that with everything we’ve been through, that’s what we want for ourselves. She found a dress and I told her I don’t want to see it yet. She’s trying to ruin everything.” He laughed. 

“Oh my god.” Allison blurted, covering her face with her hands. “I’m not, I swear I’m not!” She laughed. “I _did_ find a dress, but I told Stiles that there’s every chance I’m not even going to want it by the time the wedding actually rolls around, and I took pictures of all the styles I _did_ like, so I didn’t actually pick a dress, not without you, Mom.”

John rubbed a hand over his chin, watching the two of them thoughtfully. “You know… Stiles, your mom was just barely eighteen when we got married. I get it, I do. Maybe… Maybe we don’t know everything you’ve been through, but you can kind of tell by looking into a person’s eyes, and both of yours have been telling a tale as long as _The Iliad_.”

“ _There’s_ a nice comparison.” Victoria remarked dryly. “What’s so special about January seventh?” 

Stiles glanced at Allison and smiled. “You tell her. You tell it better.” 

Allison looked down at the table, smiling shyly as she leaned against Stiles. “In the old timeline, I was at a party that Lydia was hosting, with Scott. Scott disappeared, and Derek Hale took me home. Scott had just been turned, and was freaking out about where I was, why I’d disappeared, and… Stiles came to find me.” She looked up at her boyfriend. “He ran right up to the house, and he talked to you, Mom, and he kept asking you where I was. And when you called for me, and I came out to the upstairs landing, I looked at him and smiled. And Stiles looked back at me…” She exhaled slowly. “He looked back at me like his whole world just… flipped.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway… That was - the day it happened, it was January seventh. That’s why.”

“The more I hear about this Scott person, the less I’m convinced I’ll like him.” Victoria remarked. “I’m glad that your relationship with him is over, even though I haven’t had to tolerate it.” 

Allison looked over at Stiles in contemplation. “I think… Scott and I were better off as friends. And he _is_ a good friend. Looking back on what we were like as a couple, though… It’s almost hazy. I know I loved him at one point. I still love him, but it feels… muted?” She shook her head. “Anyway. Our relationship was just a precursor to this.” She smiled at Stiles softly. “This is the real deal.”

Stiles smiled back. After a moment, he realized that he was no longer upset by what had happened in Deaton’s office. It was still frightening, but he was surrounded by people who cared about him and didn’t want him to torment himself. 

John watched Stiles, smiling faintly before he looked down at his plate again. He was happy for his son. He was thrilled. He just wished that his wife was still around to see and partake in Stiles’ happiness. As he took a bite of his meal, he looked up at the duo from under his lashes, his smile widening. He had the feeling that if she was, she’d be teasing Stiles mercilessly.

**

_Stiles felt like he had just closed his eyes. Instead of sleeping beside Allison, he was in bed alone and it felt strange; her parents insisted on her being at her own house once in awhile._

_“Look at you. All alone tonight, right? I knew it would have to happen eventually.” The nogitsune was standing in Stiles’ bedroom doorway, smirking at him. “I think it’s about time we had a talk, don’t you?”_

_“Why?” Stiles sat up. He wasn’t scared of the nogitsune anymore. Knowing what he was capable of, even accidentally, made him feel strong. “I thought your whole thing was death and destruction.”_

_“Then you haven’t been listening at all.” The nogitsune sat down on the bed, facing Stiles. “I told you. I was brought here for those things, specifically. And when I began fulfilling what was requested of me, I was criticized for it.”_

_“Noshiko wanted you to go after the guys that were hurting people she cared about.” Stiles argued. “Instead, you started killing her friends.”_

_“What she asked of me was that I make everyone suffer or die. And while I was doing that, she was hiding and watching. The only time she confronted me, it was to kill me. Or at least, she tried. I came here with a purpose. I’m going to keep fulfilling that purpose.”_

_“So you brought me and Allison all the way back here, just to have us watch everyone we care about die? Is that your plan?” Stiles frowned. Between one blink and the next, he was on his back, handcuffed to his headboard._

_“My plan is to talk.” The nogitsune smiled. “And for you to listen. We’ve got hours. No interruptions this time.”_

_“You made me try to strangle Allison. You made me kiss Scott and drive out to New Mexico.” Stiles tested the strength of the handcuffs, feeling like he was forgetting something._

_“I did not. You were trying to strangle me, remember? She was just the person on the actual receiving end. Not my fault. Also not my fault that you kissed your best friend. Don’t you realize by now that if I was responsible for those things, I would have said so? I keep track of you, you know? Better than you could even begin to realize. See, the thing is, Stiles? You forgot to close the door. So I keep getting in. I haven’t been possessing you since we came back here. Not even once. I only talk to you when we’re both asleep. I do need rest too, you know? Or at least... well, maybe need isn’t the right word. I like to sleep. It helps me find you. I know that you’re getting stronger. I know that you and Allison want to name me. Like I’m a pet.” He laughed. “You want me to be your pet, Stiles?” He yanked the blanket off of Stiles. “Or something else, tonight? We can get a lot of things accomplished.”_

_“I was going to call you Loki.” Stiles admitted, fighting the urge to shiver. The room was cold. “But I don’t think you deserve that. Maybe Reynard, instead. Nard for short, you know?”_

_“I could slit your throat for thinking you’re so clever.”_

_“But you won’t, because I’d just wake up and this would be over.” Stiles smiled. “So, Reynard. Say what you’re here to say.”_

_Reynard’s lips twitched as he accepted the name that Stiles had chosen for him. He wasn’t overly fond of it; it was simplistic, at best, referring to him as a fox from French literature. He started stroking Stiles through his boxers. “I prefer this form of ours. It is ours now, isn’t it? But I can’t walk around like this during the day. And I know you want training. Spread your legs apart a little.”_

_Stiles complied before he realized what he was doing. “Wait. Why are you... what’s the purpose of this?”_

_“I know you had a hard time getting to sleep without Allison beside you. I’m just trying to help you relax a little. That’s all. Now, back to what I was saying. I didn’t bring you and Allison back to the beginning, like you think I did.” Reynard kept his fingers sliding up and down over Stiles’ erection as he spoke. “Everything is a little bit different. I’m sure you’ve noticed. Her parents are nicer. Your dad accepts you without question-”_

_“Don’t talk about my dad while you’re jerking me off.” Stiles interrupted, grimacing._

_“Why? Scared of the implications?” Reynard teased, shrugging and smiling when Stiles glared at him. “Everything has shifted just a little, compared to how it was when you went through it, originally. That’s because nobody can actually go back into the past and relive it. Something always changes, and it sets off everything else. You let Laura live. Unfortunately, that means someone else has to die. Not yet. But soon, you’ll see. I’m going to help you keep a balance here, so that this town doesn’t quite literally eat itself from the inside out. And I’ll train you.”_

_Stiles bit his lip as his hips thrust up involuntarily. “I think you’re only doing this to distract me from something you’re not telling me.”_

_Reynard grinned with silver teeth. “Well, to borrow a line from one of my favorite people? ‘So you’re asking me to tell you what I wouldn’t not tell you?’ See? I do pay attention, even if nobody else does. Why do you think I chose you, instead of Allison or Scott? I couldn’t use Scott, he’s a wolf. It would have been suicidal. But you? You already have everything within you to make you just like me. It’s a matter of using it. You drove yourself to New Mexico. You should ask yourself why you don’t remember going there and what happened on that trip. Think, Stiles. The drive is what, eighteen hours? You didn’t snap out of that trance of yours until you had been gone for twenty-two hours.”_

_Stiles was having trouble focusing as he got closer to coming. “I can’t...” He stammered. “Feels...”_

_“Good?” The nogitsune smirked and leaned down as though he was going to take Stiles’ erection into his mouth, laughing at the way the teen groaned in frustration. “One more thing. If you want to find me, think about what I am and what I do. You’ll figure it out.”_

Stiles woke up as he came, his hands gripping his headboard as his hips jerked upward. It was still dark outside, so he did what he could to clean himself up without getting out of bed, then rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes. Just before he would have fallen asleep again, he remembered the last thing that Reynard had told him. “The school.” He blurted. “He has to be at the school.”


	20. In Medias Res

Allison watched the passersby idly, leaning against the entrance to the store as she waited for Lydia. It felt bizarre being apart from Stiles, but Lydia was her best friend, and she felt like she’d barely seen the other girl. She straightened as a familiar face walked across the other side of the mall, and she blinked when she realized that it was Jackson, whom she’d barely thought about since the night he and Lydia had broken up. Her mind raced as she thought about what they’d been attempting to change, and how Jackson factored into it. Inhaling, she grimaced and lifted an arm, bracing herself for potential sleaze. “Hey, Jackson!” She called.

Jackson looked up immediately, turning right toward Allison and smirking faintly as he approached her. “Well, hey there, Ally.” He greeted. “Are you here alone?”

Allison promptly jerked backward, narrowing her eyes at him. “No. Lydia’s inside the store. If she comes out, and you act like an asshole, I will personally see to it that your jewels are incapacitated for at least the next four days.”

Jackson stared at her, then cleared his throat. “Heard that loud and clear.” He muttered.

Allison grinned. “Good.”

Lydia carried a couple of bags out of the store, her smile fading when she saw Jackson. “Oh. It’s you.” She muttered. “Well...” She pursed her lips and sighed. “How have you been, Jackson?” 

Straightening, Jackson cleared his throat and said, politely, “I’ve been just fine, Lydia. How - how are you?”

“I’m good.” Lydia smiled again. “I’ve been pretty busy. With Scott. But we’re planning on a party before Christmas. You should come by. It’s going to be at my house. And my dad moved out. The divorce isn’t finalized yet, of course. But at least we won’t have to listen to him talk about how horrible I am.” 

Jackson rolled his eyes. “Your dad always was a douche.” He muttered, shaking his head. “Good riddance.”

Allison’s head tilted, and she straightened at Jackson’s words, looking pleased. She texted Stiles quickly. ‘We ran into Jackson at the mall. I threatened him into being polite. It worked.’

‘Sweet!’ Stiles texted back. ‘I’m learning how to use a gun.’ 

Allison paused. ‘Learning to use it, or watching my father wave it around in a horrifying manner in order to drive home the importance of gun safety?’ She asked.

‘Learning to use it. My dad said before that he wanted to wait until I was sixteen, but he gave in and I’m at the shooting range now. Both of our dads are lecturing me about being on the phone.’ 

Allison giggled silently. ‘Sorry, Dad. Sorry, Mister Stilinski.’ She wrote back.

“Are you talking to Stiles?” Lydia waved a hand in front of Allison’s face. She glanced at Jackson. “That is her ‘I’m distracted by my boyfriend’ face.” 

Allison shoved her phone in her pocket quickly. “I’m not distracted!” She blurted.

Jackson eyed her up and down, clearly wanting to dress Stiles down, but remembering Allison’s threat about Lydia. If that was how Allison would react to defend her best friend, defending her boyfriend would be fifty times worse. He cleared his throat. “Clearly, you are.” He countered.

“You’re not going to get her attention.” Lydia shook her head at her ex-boyfriend. “Not the way you think you will. They’re engaged now. Well. Betrothed. Close enough, anyway. Her parents talked to his dad and arranged it, but they want to get married. To each other.” 

Jackson blinked, and looked at Lydia with wide eyes. “Are you kidding me?” He blurted. “How can she be engaged? How could her parents _want_ her engaged? To _Stilinski_?!”

Allison narrowed her eyes at him. “I will end you.”

“Her parents want her to be with someone that not only cares about her, but can live up to the standards they have.” Lydia smiled. “And just because you think otherwise, that doesn’t mean that Stiles isn’t that person. Do _you_ know the full extent of the Argent bestiary? Stiles does.” 

Jackson frowned at them. “What’s a bestiary?” He asked them both, furrowing his brows.

“A guide to different creatures.” Lydia murmured. “Werewolves, demons, that sort of thing. I’ve tried telling you before. It’s not my fault you don’t want to listen.” 

Jackson rubbed at his eyes. “Okay, no. Werewolves and demons and crap, they aren’t real. There’s no such thing.” He muttered, shaking his head.

“There is such a thing.” Allison told him firmly. “The sooner you start believing it, the better off you’ll be.”

“He needs proof, Allison.” Lydia smiled. “So we’ll just prove it to him.” 

Allison’s lips curved as she looked back at Lydia. “That sounds like a damn good idea. We could call Laura.” Her eyes glinted mischievously.

“Yes, let’s call Laura.” Lydia agreed. “Jackson, if you had any plans after this, you should just cancel them and come with us.” 

“I was supposed to meet Danny…” Jackson murmured petulantly. “Laura who?”

“Hale.” Lydia said in unison with Allison, beaming at her best friend. She turned back toward Jackson. “You could bring Danny, too.” 

Allison bumped her arm affectionately against Lydia’s, smiling back. “Seriously, bring him along. He should know this stuff, too.”

Jackson furrowed his brows, but nodded slowly. “Okay. Fine. I’ll bring Danny with me.” He frowned. “Didn’t even know that a Hale was in town.”

“At last count, there were five of them.” Lydia smiled. “Laura, Derek, Peter, Malia and Cora.” 

Jackson stared at her for a long moment. “I’m going to go find Danny, now. I’ll, uh. I’ll see you later. At…” He paused, looking confused. “Wherever we’re supposed to be going?”

Allison told him the address of the loft. “Don’t be late.” She murmured.

Jackson nodded absently, walking away from them.

Allison turned to Lydia. “What are the chances that he’ll scream when he gets confronted with everything?”

“One hundred percent chance.” Lydia laughed. “But you and Stiles said he wanted to be a werewolf before, right? He’s still the same person you knew, he’ll ask for it again.” 

“Oh, I know he will,” Allison sighed, shaking her head. “Last time, he was a petulant child about it. He kept insisting on it, and insisting on it - and then, he didn’t even turn into a proper werewolf.”

“Werewolves are proper?” Lydia teased. “Come on, I want to go to another store before we leave here.” 

“Alright.” Allison laughed. “Let’s hurry, though. I want to get home to Stiles. Before Stiles.”

“Why don’t you just have him meet us at Laura’s?” Lydia walked toward the shoe store, smiling to herself. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen between herself and Scott, but she was grateful that her boyfriend wasn’t as hyper-aware of her every move, the way that Stiles was with Allison. 

“Oh!” Allison blurted, tossing Lydia a grateful look. “Good idea. Thank you.” She tugged her phone out and texted Stiles, informing him of their plans.

“You’re so codependent.” Lydia remarked, stopping in the store to look at a pair of shoes that had caught her attention. “Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t started texting each other when you have to pee.” 

Allison froze, looking at the back of Lydia’s head before deleting her message and slowly putting her phone back into her pocket. “Uh, yeah. Weird, right?” She laughed. Her eyes lit up at a pair of shoes that happened to catch her eye, and she bee-lined toward them. “Ooh, cute!”

“Allison.” Lydia stared at her friend. “Were you texting Stiles to tell him that you have to pee?” 

“Nope!” Allison called back. “Definitely not.”

“Liar.” Lydia smiled. “Get those.” She nodded toward the shoes. “And you should start looking for good shoes for the wedding. I know it’s more than a year away, but you’ll want time to break them in. And find the best ones for your dress.” 

Allison paused, and looked back at her. “Maybe I should pick shoes that would go well with any type of dress? Or I can go barefoot.” She tilted her head back, smiling a little. “Maybe we could have a beach wedding.”

“In winter?” Lydia protested. “No, that’s not happening.” 

Allison blinked at her. “Well, we haven’t decided where we’re going to get married yet. And normally, it’s warm in, like, Venice Beach or whatever, isn’t it?”

“Maybe.” Lydia frowned. “But Allison, if you’re going to get married somewhere else, why even have it in California? Your parents could probably have your wedding in Paris, if you wanted. Or Milan.” 

Allison studied Lydia for a moment, furrowing her brow. “I don’t -” She started, and then sighed. “It’s still a few years away. And I was just thinking out loud. I’ve already told Stiles that I don’t want a wedding we have to be all about me - I want it to be about the both of us. I don’t want to do anything without his input, anyway.” She smiled softly. “Because he’s actually thought about how a wedding he was in might go, and I want to know all of it.”

Lydia blushed faintly, knowing all too well that Stiles’ wedding plans had once included her. “As long as you’re both happy. I just know that I would be happy if I had the opportunity to get married in Paris.” She murmured. 

“True… And I probably would be, too, but I have to think of the cost. My parents might be willing to foot the bill for a few people to come to Paris, but I don’t think they’d be willing to drag the entire group, plus extended family along, too.” 

“But can’t your other family members just pay for themselves?” Lydia asked. “I thought you were some kind of legacy family.” 

“The main branch is.” Allison murmured, looking at Lydia with a small grin. “Know how many moochers there are in my family? More than you’d think. Everyone’s a cheapskate. And somehow they always manage to guilt my dad into doing exactly what they want him to do.”

“So don’t tell them about the wedding.” Lydia smiled back. “Being related to someone definitely doesn’t obligate you.” 

“True.” Allison agreed, and then paused, looking slightly worried. “I’m not sure what to do about keeping Gerard away, though.” She said. “I’m hoping we’ll be finished with him and he’ll be out of the way before then, but there’s always a chance he won’t be.”

“He’s pretty old, isn’t he? Maybe he won’t live that long.” Lydia felt a little sick when she realized she was in favor of someone dying. She turned around suddenly and picked up the shoes she wanted, striding over to the checkout counter to pay for them. 

Allison paused once more, suddenly remembering the entire reasoning behind the debacle with Gerard in the first place. She took the shoes she’d picked out and followed Lydia, gently putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “He has cancer.” She said quietly. “Before - he was trying to play a long game, and he used Scott to force Derek to give him the bite. He was planning on murdering Derek after that to become the alpha, but Scott… he switched Gerard’s pills with different ones filled with mountain ash. The bite backfired, and the last time I saw him, he was in a nursing home, oozing this disgusting black gunk.”

“Well, Derek won’t be the alpha here.” Lydia mused. “And Scott doesn’t seem like he even wants to be a werewolf.” She faltered when the clerk rolled her eyes at them. “We’re talking about a school play. Just ring those up and mind your own business, sweetheart.” She turned toward Allison. “We’ll talk on the way to Laura’s.” 

Allison nodded, giving the clerk a tight smile. She grabbed her bag and shoved her money at the cashier when she was finished, then hurriedly grabbed her change before heading toward the exit.

**

Stiles waited in his Jeep for Lydia and Allison to pull into the parking lot, outside the apartment building where the Hales were living. With Malia and Cora having been found and brought back to their relatives, Laura seemed like she had her hands full with trying to keep Peter and Malia both from becoming feral. Stiles had thought it might be best to stay away, especially since his abilities were becoming more apparent with each passing day. He still hadn’t been able to figure out who the nogitsune was, but he had managed to talk his way out of detention with Finstock. Now, though, he realized that he was going to spend most of his winter break with all of the Hales and Scott at the same time, trying to bridge the gap between them. 

Lydia got out of her car and walked around to the front of it. “Jackson and Danny are supposed to be meeting us here.” She explained. “And once they do and your whole little pack is complete, what’s your next move?” 

Stiles rubbed his eyes and looked at Lydia. “What do you mean by that?” He asked, his tone guarded. He knew he was becoming paranoid, thinking everyone around him might be playing him. He didn’t want to believe it of Allison, but there was a lingering doubt in his mind that he could ever be wanted by anyone. He didn’t want to tell her that he was uncertain, still choosing to remain hopeful that she was actually herself and did want him. 

“I mean that you’ll have everything all set up how you want it, won’t you? We can finally relax once Scott gives you and Laura a definitive answer about this whole wolf business? And then there won’t be all of the murder that you and Allison had to deal with, before.” 

“Well, there’s this one thing we’ve kind of put off telling you.” Stiles began, looking at Allison and gesturing for her to say something. 

Allison looked at Stiles for a moment, a worried expression on her face before she turned to Lydia. She took a deep breath. “Um… Well, we've been holding off on telling you because of what it might mean this time around, and the circumstances that brought it about, but… The thing is, um…” She furrowed her brows. “Uh. Damn it. Okay. I don't even think things will happen the same now as they did before, because you broke up with Jackson early, and I'm definitely not encouraging you to take Stiles as your date, but the last time, we were all at the dance. And Jackson was drinking, and you wandered out onto the lacrosse field to find him, but - you were attacked.” Allison paled at the memory, shuddering. “Left for dead, for all we knew, because you wouldn't wake up for weeks. Peter Hale bit you, and it wasn't until Jennifer Blake appeared that we found out that - you're a banshee.”

“A wailing woman?” Lydia tilted her head, thinking. “Don’t they have something to do with death?” 

Allison nodded. “You sense death. I think we started to figure it out when the sacrifices started turning up. You'd be driving, and suddenly, you'd wind up wherever the murder was committed, but you'd never know or remember how you got there.” She cleared her throat. “When Stiles and I were dying, I vaguely remember hearing you screaming.”

“My grandmother.” Lydia murmured, a distant look in her eyes. “When I was little, she... there was a bathtub and my mom told me to stay in the car, but I didn’t listen. I just felt - I felt like I had to go in and see her. Nobody stopped me, nobody even saw me because I was so small. She called me Ariel. I don’t remember screaming then, but I remember eating ice cream and my throat hurt.” She looked at Allison and Stiles, mentally returning from the memory she had been lost in. “Until now, I’d forgotten. I’ve asked both of my parents what happened to me back then, and they said I had tonsillitis. But I have both of my tonsils. I figured they were just that forgetful or uninvolved.” 

Allison’s eyes were soft, her hands reaching for Lydia’s. “It must have been really prominent when you were a child. And… do you think it scared you? And that’s why you forgot?”

Lydia gave Allison a frustrated smile. “I would ask you how you would feel about finding one of _your_ grandparents dead in a bathtub, with a hole drilled into their skull, but I’ve heard your stories about your grandfather. You would probably be relieved. Until you said something and made me remember, I thought she was still alive and just... on vacation. Somewhere.” 

Allison went pale, her eyes widening. Her mouth opened, but she shut it again just as quickly. “I didn’t realize that you’d seen that. I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.”

Stiles put his hands on Allison’s shoulders, frowning at Lydia. “We’re not mind readers, Lydia. We only know what you’ve told us, and neither of us ever heard that story from you.” 

“Oh.” Lydia pressed her lips together, then turned and walked into the building. She thought about apologizing, but she felt too exhausted to bother. Every day, it was something new with her best friend, who she felt sometimes hadn’t exactly earned the ‘best’ part of that title. It wasn’t until she was in the elevator that she realized they had just told her that she was going to start finding corpses around town. She whimpered, closing her eyes. 

Allison had given Stiles’ hand a gentle squeeze and had quickly followed Lydia inside, stopping the elevator doors just before they shut. She hit the emergency stop button, and then bit her lip, taking a step closer to Lydia. “I wish it didn’t have to be you.” She said softly. “I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what you’ve been through. But… you’re amazing.” She smiled weakly. “You really are. You’re so brave. Braver than me, definitely. You went head to head with people who could’ve killed you, and you’ve won.”

“Well, that wasn’t _me_ , really.” Lydia protested. “That was some other girl you know who just happens to be remarkably like me. Good for her, I suppose, but if something dangerous is about to happen in this town, you had better tell me, so that I can leave.” 

Allison rubbed both hands over her face, exhaling softly. “Lydia, this place is called Beacon Hills for a reason. There’s an enormous tree trunk here, called a nemeton. It’s a beacon for supernatural energy and entities - some good, some bad. When we left the old timeline - it had been dangerous for a while. Things got very, very bad. We’ve had my murderous aunt and Peter Hale, we had - Jackson turned into a kanima, my grandfather, an Alpha pack intent on forcing Scott to murder and succeeding in making Derek murder someone from his pack, an insane dark druid, the nogitsune… It wouldn’t just stop. We’d have a few weeks of peace, and then everything would go to hell, all over again.” She went silent for a beat, and then shook her head. “I don’t blame you, if you wanted to get out of town. Maybe it would have kept you safe the first time around. But don’t think for one instant that you, and that other Lydia aren’t the same girl, Lyds. That girl is who you become. Your circumstances are different, but she’s you, and you’re her, without a doubt.”

“I don’t believe that.” Lydia shook her head, pushing a lock of hair away from her face as she stepped out of the elevator and knocked on the door to the loft. 

“Well, you don’t have to believe it.” Stiles said quietly as he walked up behind Lydia. “It doesn’t mean it’s not true, though.” 

“Believe what?” Derek asked, stepping through the archway and furrowing his brows at them all before gesturing for them all to take a seat.

“They expect me to stay here and go looking for corpses and get myself in dangerous situations.” Lydia remarked, sitting down. “I told them I have a very different plan in mind for myself.” 

Derek studied her for a moment, then shrugged. “So, follow that plan.” He said. “Do what you have in mind for yourself. But you should take the time to study up on what they say, too, because you never know - knowing about it could save your life.”

“So could leaving!” Lydia blurted, frustrated. “My dad asked me to come live with him. Maybe I should tell my mother that I’ve changed my mind.” 

“You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met.” Allison told her, looking down. “And I haven’t always… listened to you, or trusted you like I should have. It’s our fault you’ve ended up in these situations, and… I can’t promise you that I’d be able to make sure you stay safe if you stayed in Beacon Hills.” She bit her lower lip. “I don’t want you to go, but… I can’t keep you from going, if that’s what you think you should do. Just… um, maybe - please consider staying, anyway? I would do my best to help keep you safe, whatever you chose.”

“If you leave, you leave Scott.” Stiles interrupted, frowning. “Don’t stay for us, stay for him.” 

“Scott will survive without me.” Lydia protested. 

“Maybe not, though.” Stiles crouched and looked up at Lydia. “Maybe you being here is what keeps him safe. Did that even occur to you? No, it didn’t. Your dad would welcome you with open arms, I’m sure. And then he’d tell you every day that you’re stupid, Lydia. That you’re not worth anything. We know you’re amazing. But you’d be amazing on your own, in your own room, where nobody else would ever know how smart you are. And we’d probably all be dead. Me, Allison, Scott. Jackson. People you’ve never met and don’t give a shit about. We need you here.” 

Lydia took a deep breath, getting tears in her eyes. She stared back at Stiles, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll stay. But you had better teach me everything I need to know.” 

Derek folded his arms over his chest, staring at Lydia intently. “I might be able to put you in touch with someone that could help.” He offered quietly.

“Who?” Lydia gripped Stiles’ hand and stood up again. She turned when she heard the elevator whirr to life. “That must be Jackson and Danny.” 

Jackson stepped carefully through the doorway, looking around warily. His nose scrunched up a little in disdain at the interior. “Well… this place is… nice.” He struggled to say, clearing his throat a little as he led the way inside.

Derek didn’t look up at Jackson, keeping his gaze on Lydia as he spoke, though he did glance up at Stiles and Allison briefly. “You two might have reservations about this.” He told the couple, then looked at Lydia. “But it’s my uncle. He knows more about the supernatural than anyone I know.”

Danny smiled as he turned to close the door behind him. “I know a little bit, too.” He murmured. “My family - we don’t hunt, but we’re knowledgeable.” 

Derek squinted at Danny thoughtfully for a moment, before nodding. “Okay.” He turned back to Lydia. “You’ve got two sources you can choose from. And you look like you’ve got a lot of support as well.” He tossed her a faint, barely-there smile. “Whoever you choose, you’ll have a lot of back-up.”

Allison smiled at her tentatively. “You would, you know.” She said softly. “We’d back you up, no matter what.”


	21. Echoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the fuck?” Stiles blurted, not caring about minding his manners. “Dad, was it Scott? Was it Scott?! Tell me. Don’t tell me. No, tell me. Was it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last, a new chapter. This one is a little different, but we wanted it to feel more suspenseful and flow like a movie or tv show scene. Let us know what you think!

Reynard smiled and pushed his glasses back up onto his nose as he waited. This wasn’t something that Stiles would approve of, he knew, but sacrifices had to be made in order to keep things balanced. The nogitsune-in-training would understand one day, even if it wouldn’t happen anytime soon. He had waited more than a month for this, and he had everything set up to go according to his plan, no matter how the boy reacted. 

Jackson stared at the teacher warily, gritting his teeth. “This is absolute bullshit, Curtis.” He snapped. “I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking, but you won’t be getting any cash from my dad for this. He’s going to roast your ass alive.”

“He’ll have to catch me, first.” Reynard took off the annoying glasses and went back to the form he preferred, laughing. “Before you get confused, no. I’m not Stiles. I just thought the last person you saw before you died might as well be someone you’re at least a little more comfortable with. Or not. I guess it depends on what day it is, right? Don’t worry, you’re going for a noble cause.” He picked up the sword that he had leaned against a tree earlier. “Your death will save everyone.” 

Jackson stared at the sword, his breath quickening. Even though he was beginning to shake, he drew himself up as best he could, staring the false-teacher-slash-doppelgänger of Stiles down with a haughty look in his eyes. He took a deep, shaky breath and said, “Maybe. But it’s not going to save you.”

“I know what I’m doing.” Reynard shrugged and hefted the sword, swinging it in a wide arc and stepping back to wipe at the blood that had sprayed across his face and chest. “I should have brought a change of clothes.” He muttered. “Oh well. Happy birthday, Stiles. I hope you like the effort that I put into this.” 

**

Stiles was getting ready for bed, finally relaxed after being on edge all day. He had hovered around Laura until she got fed up and told him to get out, but not before she handed him a stack of notebooks full of information on the Hale lineage, as his gift from her. He hadn’t bothered looking at them very closely yet, he was too anxious to do much of anything. Just as he was laying down, the phone rang. He sat up again, his heart pounding. “No. No, no.” He blurted, running down the stairs. Before, he had crept quietly and eavesdropped on his dad’s phone call. This time, he didn’t bother with pretense and skidded to a halt in front of the elder Stilinski, terrified as he listened to his dad’s side of the conversation. 

John’s face was grim, his head lowered. He raised his eyes briefly to look at his son, and then sighed, looking down again. “I’ll be right there.” He said quietly. “No - you contact his parents. Don’t let them find out from any other source other than us. Keep this as quiet as possible, until we have all of the information, the last thing we need is for the entire community to… Yeah, well, it wouldn’t be the first time word’s gotten out before we wanted it to. Yeah. Alright. I’ll see you in a bit. Thanks.” He hung up the phone and stayed quiet for a long moment, shaking his head before he looked up at Stiles. He raised an arm toward his son, beckoning him closer. “C’mere, kid.” He said softly.

“What the fuck?” Stiles blurted, not caring about minding his manners. “Dad, was it Scott? Was it Scott?! Tell me. Don’t tell me. No, tell me. Was it?” 

“Jesus, no, it wasn’t Scott.” John looked horrified. He put a hand on his head, closing his eyes. “No. It wasn’t - Scott’s fine. I assume he’s fine. I figured Melissa would call us if it was otherwise. Um.” He took a deep breath and then shook his head. “A pair of joggers found a boy’s body in the woods tonight, near the Hales’ old property. The body was bisected.” He bit his lower lip. “It was Jackson Whittemore.”

Stiles’ face drained of color and he stared back at his dad, his mouth opening and no sound coming out. He swallowed roughly. “Why?” He asked finally. “Why would it be him? He was getting along with us, he was part of the group for once, I could see a difference and I knew he wasn’t going to be a problem for us to solve this time around. Cut in half... that’s something that the Argents do. That’s what they did to Laura. I just don’t understand why. I know you have to go, just... go.” He murmured, taking a deep breath. “I’ll figure this out. I need to go tell... I’ll tell Lydia. I think she would be better at telling Danny, anyway.” 

John paused, then moved forward and hugged Stiles tightly. “I wish I had the answers for you, son. I’m sorry. It kills me that I don’t.” He exhaled and cupped Stiles’ head, pressing a kiss to the top. “If you’re planning to go out, be careful. Please be careful. Please don’t - don’t give me a reason to think I might have a second call to answer tonight, okay?”

“Wait.” Stiles rubbed his eyes. “This is wrong. This is... it’s still my birthday. Whoever did this is a day early, and...” He stood up straight as he realized who was responsible for Jackson’s death. “I do need to go, but I won’t go anywhere near the woods.” He hugged his dad and went out to the Jeep, driving to Lydia’s. As worried as he was about his dad going to a crime scene that the nogitsune had created, he couldn’t think about that right now. He felt like he was walking right into whatever trap Reynard had designed for him, but this wasn’t something he could tell Lydia over the phone. Allison, on the other hand... Stiles used his phone with one hand to call her while he steered with the other. 

“Stiles?” Allison answered sleepily. “What's going on? Are you okay?”

“No. Something’s gone wrong. I have to talk to Lydia. Want me to come get you, first?” Stiles had intended to tell Allison about Jackson over the phone, but once he heard her voice, he couldn’t make himself do it. 

In an instant, Allison was alert. “Yes. Yeah, come get me.” She nodded, even though he couldn’t see. “I’ll get dressed.”

“I’ll be right there.” Stiles changed lanes and drove back toward Allison’s house, determined to stay focused on driving instead of having a breakdown. 

Allison hurriedly got out of her bed and got dressed, putting on a coat before she hurried down the stairs and stood at the front door for Stiles, her fingers clutching the doorframe worriedly.

Stiles pulled into Allison’s driveway and leaned across the Jeep’s front seat to open the door for her. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. 

Allison rushed out of the house and slid into the Jeep, looking at Stiles. She clutched her hands together, looking terrified. “What’s happened?” She asked softly.

“Jackson.” Stiles opened his eyes and looked at Allison. “Jackson, instead of Laura. Joggers found him in the woods. I need to tell Lydia because I’m not good at this stuff and she knows I’m not, and she can tell Danny because _somebody_ has to tell Danny. If it was Scott, somebody would have to tell me. I thought it was, at first.” His voice shook, but he couldn’t make himself stop talking. “I thought it was Scott, that Scott went out to the woods because this is the weekend when everything went to hell, even though it’s not today, it’s tomorrow. It’s supposed to be tomorrow, but I don’t... I don’t know why it happened today. I mean, I think I do know. I don’t know if I know or not.” 

Allison looked sick, her hand pressed over her mouth. “What - who would…” She trailed off, swallowing hard as she tried to articulate her thoughts without breaking down. She hadn’t liked Jackson as much during this go-around, but she’d never wished him dead. The thought of someone in her family lashing out and cutting Jackson in half - someone like her grandfather - made her want to throw up. “Was it - who did this to him, Stiles?” She reached for her boyfriend’s hand, clutching it tightly, her lower lip trembling. “What did we do wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles laced his fingers with Allison’s, sighing. “I really don’t know. I think that, uh, Reynard did it?” He said quietly. “Because today’s my birthday and it was supposed to happen tomorrow, not that I wanted it to happen at all, but he’s sending me a message and I don’t understand why. And I still haven’t figured out who he is, here. It’s like I’m out of time and I feel like I can’t breathe. I’m not having a panic attack, I just - I can’t breathe. I’m an asshole, I know, but I keep thinking that it should have been somebody else that I didn’t give a shit about. Kill some freshman or a senior that I’ve never so much as heard the name of, maybe. Or a deer. Why not an animal instead of a human, anyway? What’s the point of trying to save everybody when they’re just going to get murdered right out from under us?” 

Allison shut her eyes, slowly moving forward until she could rest her head against Stiles’ chest, tears streaking over her cheeks. “I can’t believe this. Poor Jackson.” She gasped softly. “Oh, god. Poor Lydia.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah. I know she’s involved with Scott now, but... we have to tell her.” He let go of Allison’s hand reluctantly and started driving toward Lydia’s house again. “I don’t know how to say it, other than just saying it. When my mom died, I was by myself with her, because my dad was working. And he came to the hospital and I was so pissed off. It felt like somebody ripped my lungs out of my chest. I remember, I looked up at him and I told him she was dead. That’s all I had to say, after everything. I didn’t even want to leave her grave, after her funeral. He had to convince me to come with him.” 

Allison wiped at her eyes, staring down listlessly at the floor of the Jeep. “I don’t need to remind you of what I was like when my mom died.” She said softly. “I don’t…” She looked lost. “I don’t know how we can deal with this. I never even saw this coming.”

“We never saw any of the other stuff coming, either.” Stiles pointed out. “Maybe that’s all this is, you know? Some divine force getting even with us for trying to stay ahead of it.” 

“So that’s just it?” Allison asked softly. “No matter what we do to make things better… we still lose?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles muttered. “I’m trying not to think too much about it.” He parked outside of Lydia’s house and turned his head to look at her front door, then he glanced at Allison. “How are we supposed to do this, exactly? We told her that we had it under control, that everything would be fine now.” 

Allison opened her mouth and exhaled slowly, shaking her head. “I don’t know. I don’t… I don’t think she’d take it well from me. But… I think we should just tell her outright. I just don’t know how she’s going to react. She loved him, but it took the whole kanima thing before they’d admit it to each other.”

Stiles got out of the Jeep and walked around to open the passenger side door for Allison. He didn’t wait for her; instead, he walked up to Lydia’s front door and knocked. 

Lydia answered the door, her eyes wide. “I heard it.” She murmured. “I heard it, but I didn’t want to believe it. You’re here to tell me though, aren’t you?” 

Allison followed Stiles up to the door, looking down. She nodded. “It’s true.” She said softly, her voice catching.

Lydia gripped the doorframe, her mouth opening to emit her anguished scream. “Jack-”

**

“-son!” Lydia wailed, kneeling beside Stiles’ unconscious body, in the tunnel. 

Stiles bolted upright, turning to face Lydia. “What happened? Lydia, what-”

**

“- is going on?” Stiles demanded, turning toward Allison and wrapping an arm around her as the ground below them shook. 

Allison stared at Lydia, clinging to Stiles and gazing around. “I don’t know.” She whispered. “I don’t - I’d say it’s an earthquake, but…. earthquakes don’t feel like _this_.”

Lydia’s scream echoed through town, reaching as far as Eichen House, reverberating through the tunnels below. She fell silent, tilting her head to listen to her own grief-stricken wail. 

Laura sank to her knees in the loft. Her corpse, buried outside of the remains of her old home, shifted in the dirt. 

Boyd turned to look at Derek, silent understanding making him nod to his former alpha. 

Derek stared at Boyd, looking horrified despite the younger man’s nod. He swallowed and reached out to clasp a hand to Boyd’s shoulder, squeezing tightly.

Erica put a hand to her chest, her head tilted and a confused expression crossing her face as she felt the phantom pains of bones breaking and her body crumbling. A desperate gasp escaped her throat, her own buried body surging in its confines.

Scott stumbled, clutching the wall - clutching Allison - the vision of his ex-girlfriend’s bloodied lips there, and then gone, before coming back again.

Isaac wavered, leaning back against the railing and clutching at it tightly, a distinct feeling of being in a vacuumed space. He struggled to breathe for a moment, and the air suddenly flowed back into his lungs. He looked around, bewildered.

The stinging sensation of a blade cutting across his middle made Jackson sit bolt upright on the couch inside of his home. He grasped the arm of the couch, sucking in a stunned breath. One hand made its way to his stomach, touching the skin frantically before he realized that there was nothing there. He stared out of the window of his flat at the cool, gray clouds of London and wondered suddenly, silently, why his heart ached to be back in Beacon Hills once more.


	22. A Pack Made Whole

Stiles pulled Allison against him, his eyes searching hers. “Are you okay?” He smiled slowly. “Because I’m feeling pretty good right now.” 

Allison stared up at him, her hands patting at his chest like she couldn’t believe he was really still standing in front of her. She exhaled, and then let out a soft, stunned little laugh. “I’m incredible.” She told him. “And so are you.” She lunged forward and kissed him.

Stiles kissed back, relieved. Lydia’s scream had sent ripples through time, saving Jackson and preventing the deaths of pack members that had originally been lost along the way. Here, Scott was still a true alpha, but Peter hadn’t turned him or tried to kill any of the others. Kira was part of their pack, but she was seeing Malia. As a group, they had dealt with Matt Daehler stalking Allison, Gerard Argent trying to manipulate Scott into helping him murder Laura, and Julia Baccari trying to claim power that wasn’t rightfully hers. Because of the two timelines converging into one, Stiles had his personal tutor to thank for getting him out of the very situation that Reynard had put him in, in the first place. 

Reynard stood apart from the pack, a confused smile on his face. He had done what he had set out to do, feeding on the chaos that the rift had caused, and ensuring that Stiles would become the nogitsune that he had opportunity to be. He knew the consequences for his actions, for everything he had done. He had waited nearly a year for his punishment, knowing that murdering Jackson was a necessary evil that had never happened here, but he could tell by the look on the young nogitsune’s face that Stiles hadn’t forgotten. “Are you going to kill me?” 

Stiles smiled and shook his head. “No, I think there might actually be a worse fate for you. Or a better one. I guess we’ll find out.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I figured it out, you know? I just never said it out loud. You couldn’t get into my head, anyway. Not anymore. You were only here in the first place because Noshiko made a wish for everyone to suffer. All of this happened because Allison and I made a wish to go back, and you granted it. But since Noshiko got one, and Allison and I got one, that means you have one wish left to grant.” 

“How do you know I didn’t grant both of yours, and maybe I’ve got none left at all?” Reynard smirked. 

“Because you’re still here.” Stiles said calmly. “And you can’t grant mine anymore, I’m too far gone for that. But that’s okay, there’s somebody else here that’s always known what the right thing is, and he’s made a habit of getting it done. Scott?” He turned toward his best friend. 

Scott looked at Stiles warily, moving toward his best friend. “I’m really lost right now, dude, you’re going to explain all of this to me again later, right?” He whispered, staring warily at Stiles’ double.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, we’ll talk. Just do the thing.” He patted Scott’s shoulder. “You’ve got this.” 

Scott looked at Stiles, then nodded before looking back at the nogitsune. He reached for his best friend’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Reynard, right?” He started quietly. “I think maybe you’ve done enough. I think your job is done, and you can rest, now, without being bound to… what makes you what you are.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. “I wish you free.”

Reynard’s eyebrow raised as he turned his head to look at Stiles. “Is he for real?” 

“Yeah, a little too much Disney as a kid, but he got the point, and so did you.” Stiles nodded. “You’re not stuck doing what other people want anymore, even if you did kind of fuck with their phrasing to get your own way. Now you’re just another ordinary dude... who’s wearing my face. Damn it.” 

Allison wrapped her arm around Stiles’ waist, eyeing the nogitsune - the _former_ nogitsune - through narrowed eyes, before smirking faintly. “Well, we are in California. He could always hit up Los Angeles and get reconstructive surgery.”

Scott frowned at all of them. “I didn’t watch that much Disney.” He muttered.

“Reconstructive surgery implies something is wrong with my face.” Stiles pouted at Allison. 

“Keep doing that and there will be.” Lydia smiled sweetly, moving to lean against Scott. 

Allison closed her eyes, dropping her head to Stiles’ shoulder and laughing.

Scott glanced down at Lydia and smiled, dropping his hand down to wrap his fingers around hers.

Reynard lifted a hand and waved to Stiles as he took a few steps backward. “I was kind of hoping you would catch on that this is what I wanted.” He smiled. “I’m not planning on hanging around and causing problems. Not for you, anyway.” 

Allison threaded her fingers through Stiles’, watching Reynard with an uncertain smile. “I hope not. And I hope you don’t plan to cause any problems for innocent people, either.” She hesitated. “Right?”

“Nobody’s ever really innocent.” Reynard winked at Allison. “Bye.” 

“Uh. Bye.” Allison murmured, looking back at Stiles. “That was weird. That was weird, right?”

“You mean because you got winked at by your boyfriend’s body double?” Lydia scoffed playfully. “No, not weird at all.” 

Allison pouted against Stiles’ neck. “I still think we should’ve gotten him to agree to plastic surgery or something. God only knows what sort of mayhem he could cause, running around looking like my baby.” She cupped Stiles’ face and kissed him softly.

Stiles smirked and pulled Allison close, his fingers spread over her ribs. “I think you wanted him to hang around for just a few more hours.” He said dryly. “It turns out there are some kinks I’m not into exploring.” 

Lydia bit her lip, giving Scott a quick, apologetic look as she walked away, calling Jackson. “I know you felt what the rest of us felt. Are you coming home now?” 

Jackson was silent for a long moment. “I don’t know yet.” He said eventually. “I don’t know exactly what it was I felt. But… I know a part of me wants to be there.” He sighed. “I just don’t know if or when it’ll happen.”

Lydia lifted her head, even though Jackson couldn’t see her. “Jackson Whittemore, if you’re not on the next flight out of London and on your way back here, I’ll scream so loud that your grandchildren will be born deaf.” 

Jackson winced, and then scowled. “Jesus christ, fine.” He muttered. “I’ll talk to my parents about getting out of here on the next flight.”

Lydia smiled. “Thank you. I’ll see you when you get here.” She hung up and turned back to her friends. “Jackson’s coming back here.” 

“Ugh. The locker room _just_ stopped smelling like Axe.” Stiles frowned. “Lydia, why do you hate the lacrosse team?” 

“She doesn’t.” Scott answered him, staring at Lydia for a long moment. He swallowed.

Allison nudged Stiles in the side firmly. “Well, I think it’s great that he’s coming back.” She said, nodding, and then paused a moment later, screwing up her features as she thought. “I think?”

“That’s one of the reasons I’m marrying you.” Stiles teased, kissing her. “Rampant uncertainty.” 

Allison snorted, poking him as she smiled and kissed him back. “Yeah, _that’s_ one of the reasons,” she teased back, pressing into his side.


End file.
